(E&E Publishing, Washington, 28 September 2012) Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical Co. are $5 billion closer to building a world-scale petrochemical complex in Saudi Arabia, thanks to the U.S. government. Yesterday, the Export-Import Bank authorized a $4.975 billion loan to Sadara Chemical Co., a joint venture between Dow and Saudi Aramco… making it the largest job-creating deal in the bank’s history… Doug Norlen, a policy director at Pacific Environment, said the environment is also a loser in the deal. He pointed to Ex-Im’s estimates that Sadara will release 4.4 million metric tons of CO2 a year. “Ex-Im Bank’s support for the Sadara project is another example of the agency’s ongoing fossil fuel binge,” he said.
