Saudi Aramco and Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) have let a contract to KBR Inc. to advance their plan of building a fully integrated crude oil-to-chemicals (COTC) complex in Saudi Arabia (OGJ Online, June 28, 2016).
Under the newly awarded contract, KBR will deliver project management and front-end engineering and design for the COTC, Aramco said.
The contract primarily covers finalization of the project scope, selection of technology providers, update on project economics, and performance of FEED, the project partners said.
The parties did not disclose a value of the contract.
This latest contract for the proposed COTC follows Aramco and SABIC’s recent contract award to John Wood Group PLC, Aberdeen, to provide preliminary FEED and PM services during the engineering, procurement, and construction phases to support development of the complex (OGJ Online, Mar. 8, 2018).
Both contracts follow Aramco and SABIC’s November 2017 signing of a memorandum of understanding to execute FEED for the proposed COTC complex, which they expect will process 400,000 b/d of crude oil to produce about 9 million tonnes/year of chemicals and base oils (OGJ Online, Nov. 28, 2017).
The complex would use a COTC process derived from improved refining technology that mixes configurations with proved conversion technologies to create an integrated petrochemical complex capable of maximizing chemical yield, transforming and recycling byproducts, driving efficiencies of scale and resource optimization, and diversifying Saudi Arabia’s petrochemical feedstock mix, the companies said upon announcing the project in 2016.
If approved, the COTC project—which would fulfill Saudi Vision 2030 goals for the downstream sector and will mark the first time the two largest economic entities in Saudi Arabia jointly enter into a strategic partnership—would create an estimated 30,000 direct and indirect jobs (OGJ Online, June 1, 2016).
The companies previously said they plan to reach a final investment decision on the complex upon completing FEED.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
