A new Saudi Arabian petrochemicals refinery complex will provide further demand support for buoyant chemical tankers, shipbroker BRS Group believes.

The joint project to turn crude oil into chemicals was launched this month by state oil firm Saudi Aramco and petrochemicals producer Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC).

It will be based at Ras Al Khair on the Red Sea coast, the kingdom’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said.