Advanced Global Investment Co. (AGIC), a subsidiary of Advanced Petrochemical Co. (APC), has let a contract to Maire Tecnimont SPA subsidiaries Tecnimont SPA and Tecnimont Arabia Ltd. to deliver engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) on two polypropylene (PP) units for a grassroots integrated propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and PP complex to be built at APC’s existing operations in Jubail Industrial City II, Saudi Arabia (OGJ Online, May 15, 2020).
As part of the lump-sum turnkey contract, Tecnimont will provide complete engineering services, equipment, and out-of-kingdom material supply for the PP units, with Tecnimont Arabia to deliver in-kingdom material supply, erection, and construction activities up to startup and performance of guarantee test run, Maire Tecnimont said on Apr. 13.
To be located inside the integrated PDH-PP complex, the two PP units—each of which will have a capacity of 400,000-tonnes/year—are scheduled to be completed by second-quarter 2024, according to the service provider.
This latest contract for the PDH-PP complex follows AGIC’s May 2020 award to Fluor Corp. for delivery of project management consulting on the development, as well as awards to Lummus Technology LLC for licensing of its proprietary CATOFIN technology for the PDH plant and LyondellBasell Industries NV’s subsidiary Basell Poliolefine Italia SRL for licensing of its Spherizone and Spheripol technologies for the complex’s two PP plants (OGJ Online, Aug. 3, 2020; May 21, 2020).
AGIC previously signed a shareholders’ agreement with SK Gas Co. Ltd. subsidiary SK Gas Petrochemical Pte. Ltd. (SKGP) in March 2020 to establish a JV named Advanced Polyolefins Co. (APC JV) for construction and operation of the proposed PDH-PP complex. At a total estimated cost of about $1.8 billion, the planned PDH-PP project will be financed 25% by equity of shareholders, with the remaining 75% borrowed. AGIC will hold 85% interest in APC JV, with SKGP holding the remaining 15%.
Scheduled for start of construction this year, APC said in 2020 it expects the APC JV PDH-PP complex—which will receive its main feedstock of propane from Saudi Aramco under a long-term contract—to reach full startup in second-half 2024.
Once in operation, AGIC’s complex will produce 843,000 tpy of propylene and 800,000 tpy of PP for production of specialty polymers by manufacturers in the face mask, automotive, pipes, food packaging, and textiles industries.
Proposed petrochemicals complex
In addition to the planned PDH-PP complex, APC quietly announced in March 2021 that Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy has approved allocating requisite volumes of feedstock for AGIC to set up a grassroots petrochemicals complex, also to be built in Jubail Industrial City II.
To be based on a “cracking technology” yet to be identified, the proposed complex will produce 1.15 million tpy of ethylene, 850,000 tpy of propylene, and 400,000 tpy of aromatics, fuels, and their derivatives, APC said in a Mar. 10 filing to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).
Part of the operator’s effort to increase competitiveness of national industries in line with Saudi Vision 2030, APC said startup of all units to be included in the newly announced complex will be in fourth-quarter 2025.
The operator, however, has yet to officially reveal further details about the proposed petrochemical project.