Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) has partnered with TotalEnergies to establish a petrochemical facility in Saudi Arabia at a total investment of nearly $11 billion.
Subject to further approvals, a total of $4 billion will be pumped through 62.50% equity by Aramco and 37.50% by TotalEnergies, according to a press release.
The Amiral complex will be owned, operated, and integrated with the existing Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company's (SATORP) refinery in Jubail.
Through the new petrochemical facility, SATORP will transform internally produced refinery off-gases and naphtha, in addition to ethane and natural gasoline supplied by Aramco into higher-value chemicals, which will reinforce the listed company’s liquids-to-chemicals strategy.
The complex is considered the region’s first mixed feed cracker to be combined with a refinery. It targets an annual production capacity of 1.65 million tonnes of ethylene. It will also include two polyethylene units deployed with advanced dual loop (ADL) technology, a butadiene extraction unit, in addition to other associated derivatives units.
Furthermore, the construction is scheduled to begin during the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, while the commercial operation is expected to commence in 2027. The overall complex, including adjacent facilities, is projected to secure 7,000 local direct and indirect job opportunities.
Amiral will provide feedstock to other petrochemical and specialty chemical plants in the Jubail industrial area, which will be developed, owned, and operated by downstream investors worldwide at additional estimated investments of $4 billion.
This will bolster the establishment of key manufacturing industries such as carbon fibers, lubes, drilling fluids, detergents, food additives, as well as automotive parts and tires.
Amin Nasser, President and CEO of Aramco, said: “Our long-standing relationship with TotalEnergies has been further strengthened by this important project, which represents an opportunity for us to showcase the potential for cutting-edge liquids to chemicals technologies that support the circular economy.”
Nasser added: “With this collaboration we aim to expand the value chain by producing advanced chemicals more efficiently than ever before, accelerating industrial progress in the Kingdom.”
Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, said: “This world-class complex also fits with our strategy to expand sustainably in petrochemicals by maximising the synergies within our major platforms.”
Last November, Saudi Aramco unveiled plans to carry out the Shaheen project in South Korea at a total value of $7 billion to expand the crude to the chemicals value chain.
In the first nine months (9M) of 2022, the Tadawul-listed firm recorded a net profit after Zakat and tax worth SAR 488.78 billion, an annual leap of 67.97% from SAR 291 billion.
Meanwhile, SATORP turned profitable at SAR 6.68 billion in 9M-22, against net losses after Zakat and tax worth SAR 1.16 billion in 9M-21.
