Aramco/Total in US$5bn petchem complex in Saudi Arabia; Aramco to partner on US$44 billion refinery/petchem project in India

Saudi Aramco and French oil and gas major Total are to build a giant petrochemical complex at their 440,000 barrels/day joint venture Jubail Satorp refinery in Jubail, Saudi Arabia

The complex will be integrated downstream of the Satorp refinery, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco (62.5%) and Total (37.5%) in Jubail, in a move designed to fully exploit operational synergies. This world-class refinery with capacity increased from 400,000-barrels/day at its start-up in 2014 to 440,000-barrels/day today, is recognised as being one of the most efficient in the world, said Total.

Located next to the Satorp refinery in the same industrial area, the complex will comprise a world-size mixed-feed steam cracker (50% ethane and refinery off-gas) with a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes/year of ethylene and related high-added-value petrochemical units. The project will represent an investment of around US$5 billion. The two partners are planning to start the front-end engineering and design (FEED) in the third quarter of 2018.

The cracker will feed other petrochemical and specialty chemical plants representing an overall amount of US$4 billion investment by third party investors.

In total, US$9 billion will be invested, creating 8,000 local direct and indirect jobs. The project will produce more than 2.7 million tonnes of high value chemicals, said the partners.

Meanwhile in related news, Saudi Aramco has signed an initial deal with a consortium of Indian refiners to build a US$44 billion refinery and petrochemical project on India’s west coast.

Top executives of Aramco and India’s Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals - a joint venture of Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp recently signed a memorandum of understanding to take equal stakes in the project in Maharashtra state.

The project includes a 1.2-million-barrels/day refinery integrated with petrochemical facilities with a total capacity of 18 million tonnes/year.

Aramco, the world’s biggest oil producer, is expanding its footprint globally by signing new downstream deals and boosting the capacity of its existing plants ahead of an initial public offering that is expected later this or next year.

The Indian plant will be expected to be one of the largest refining and petrochemical complexes in the world, built to meet fast-growing fuel and petrochemicals demand in India and elsewhere.

(PRA)

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