Saudi Aramco has signed a joint development and collaboration agreement (JDCA) with Axens SA and TechnipFMC PLC to accelerate development and commercialization of subsidiary Saudi Aramco Technologies Co.’s catalytic crude-to-chemicals (CC2C) technology.
With the potential to increase the efficiency and yield of chemicals production by converting more than 60% of a barrel of crude directly into petrochemicals, the CC2C technology will enable elimination of several energy-intensive processes to create high-value product streams that produce larger quantities of chemicals while generating less emissions, Aramco said.
The JDCA aims to achieve CC2C commercial readiness by 2021.
The new technology builds on the success of the proven high-severity fluid catalytic cracking (HS-FCC) technology Aramco codeveloped with King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals and JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. as part of a technology alliance that includes Axens and TechnipFMC, which serve as exclusive licensors of HS-FCC technology.
Expedited development of CC2C technology comes amid increasing global demand for petrochemicals, which the International Energy Agency predicts will require an additional 4 million bbl of crude-to-chemicals conversion to meet by 2035, according to the Aramco-Axens-TechnipFMC partnership.
Commercial readiness of the CC2C technology also will come ahead of Aramco and Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp.’s (SABIC) previously announced project to build a fully integrated crude oil-to-chemicals (COTC) complex in Yanbu, on Saudi Arabia’s west coast (OGJ Online, Nov. 1, 2018).
The proposed 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 for startup in 2025.
Last year, Aramco and SABIC awarded a contract for project management and front-end engineering and design on the complex to KBR Inc., 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).
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
