Saudi Aramco and Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) have selected Yanbu, on Saudi Arabia’s west coast, to build their previously announced fully integrated crude oil-to-chemicals (COTC) complex (OGJ Online, Nov. 28, 2017; June 28, 2016).
The COTC complex, which will process 400,000 b/d of oil to produce about 9 million tonnes/year of chemicals and base oils, is scheduled to start operations in 2025, the companies said in a joint release.
The complex will 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 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 jobs as well as support the creation of a global downstream sector in Saudi Arabia, built on four key drivers: maximizing value from the kingdom’s crude oil production via integration across the hydrocarbon chain; enabling the creation of conversion industries to produce semi-finished and finished goods to help diversify the economy; developing advanced technologies and innovation; and enabling sustainable development in alignment with the kingdom’s National Transformation Program.
Aramco and SABIC said they expect that, by 2030, the COTC complex will have 1.5% impact on the kingdom’s gross domestic product, with investments to be shared equally by both companies.
Official selection of Yanbu for siting of the COTC complex follows Aramco and SABIC’s previous award of a contract to KBR Inc. to provide project management and front-end engineering and design, and as well as a contract to John Wood Group PLC to deliver preliminary FEED and project management services during the engineering, procurement, and construction phases to support development of the complex (OGJ Online, Apr. 30, 2018; Mar. 8, 2018).
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
