Saudi Arabian Oil Co. and its partner Dow Chemical Co. plan to start production this year at their $20 billion Sadara chemicals joint venture as other projects being planned in the region face the obstacle of falling crude prices. Ethylene and polyethylene will be the first products of Sadara Chemical Co., Khalid Al Hamid, manager for engineering and technology, said in Dubai. Full output is set for late 2017. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, started the petrochemical project in 2011 when oil averaged $111 a barrel. Prices have since slumped about 45 percent. Qatar Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell Plc ended plans last month to build a $6.5 billion petrochemical plant, saying it was “commercially unfeasible” in the current energy market. “Middle East chemicals projects are facing stiff review,” Sanjay Sharma, vice president for Middle East and India at Englewood, Colorado-based IHS Inc., said in […]