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Saudi Arabia Produces First Locally-Manufactured N95 Mask

First Saudi manufactured mask produced with the support of SABIC’s polymer portfolio. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
First Saudi manufactured mask produced with the support of SABIC’s polymer portfolio. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Produces First Locally-Manufactured N95 Mask

First Saudi manufactured mask produced with the support of SABIC’s polymer portfolio. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
First Saudi manufactured mask produced with the support of SABIC’s polymer portfolio. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Mais Company for Medical Products (SMMP) has announced producing the kingdom’s first fully manufactures N95 masks from polypropylene manufactured in SABIC, in cooperation with the Dimas Nonwoven Fabrics Company.

This announcement takes the kingdom a step closer towards localizing medical personal protective equipment.

The product has obtained the necessary approvals after meeting the requirements of the Food and Drug Authority.

SABIC’s polymers portfolio is organized largely around the automotive, foam/lightweight and pipe segments, helping find the right alternatives to replace traditional materials, such as wood, cotton or glass, used in a vast array of consumer and industrial products.

Yousef al-Benyan, SABIC Vice Chairman and CEO, underscored the company’s keenness to support national industry and achieve objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030 to maximize local content and empower strategic industries through its national initiative “Nusaned.”

The company works in an integrated manner with industrial institutions throughout the kingdom to provide innovative and sustainable solutions by developing raw materials that are used in the manufacture of highly used products and raising their quality and efficiency, he explained.

“The local production of these masks represents a key step in the field of localizing medical products, which would contribute to enhancing prevention and raising levels of public health.”

He pointed out that the “Nusaned initiative works with a wide base of local entrepreneurs and manufacturers in the field of localizing strategic industries and transferring the technologies necessary for these industries.”

A team from SABIC visited Dimas and Mais plants and shed light on the initiatives’ efforts to produce the first raw materials to manufacture the N95 mask from local materials.

The success of this step reflects the importance of joint cooperation between the private and public sectors to support local products and localize industries in the field of personal and health protection equipment.

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Oil Prices Slip as Russia Sanctions Stay in Focus

FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas US August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas US August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford//File Photo
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Oil Prices Slip as Russia Sanctions Stay in Focus

FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas US August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas US August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford//File Photo

Oil prices slipped on Tuesday from the previous day's four-month highs but the market remained supported by continuing focus on the impact of new US sanctions on Russian oil exports to key buyers India and China.

Brent futures were down 58 cents, or 0.72%, to $80.43 a barrel by 1421 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 62 cents, or 0.79% to $78.20 a barrel, Reuters reported.

Prices jumped 2% on Monday after the US Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas as well as 183 vessels that transport oil as part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet of tankers.

"With several nations seeking alternative fuel supplies in order to adapt to the sanctions, there may be more advances in store, even if prices correct a bit lower should tomorrow's US CPI data come in somewhat hotter-than-expected", said Charalampos Pissouros, senior investment analyst at brokerage XM.

While analysts were still expecting a significant price impact on Russian oil supplies from the fresh sanctions, their effect on the physical market could be less pronounced than what the affected volumes might suggest.

ING analysts estimated the new sanctions had the potential to erase the entire 700,000 barrel-per-day surplus they had forecast for this year, but said the real impact could be lower.

"The actual reduction in flows will likely be less, as Russia and buyers find ways around these sanctions," they said in a note.

Nevertheless, analysts expect less of a supply overhang in the market as a result.

"We anticipate that the latest round of sanctions are more likely to move the market closer to balance this year, with less pressure on demand growth to achieve this," said Panmure Liberum analyst Ashley Kelty.

Uncertainty about demand from major buyer China could blunt the impact of the tighter supply. China's crude oil imports fell in 2024 for the first time in two decades outside of the COVID-19 pandemic, official data showed on Monday.