By Saeed Haider

Saudi Gazette

DHAHRAN —

President and Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Aramco Amin H. Nasser, and Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Total, signed here Monday the joint development agreement for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) of a giant petrochemical complex in Jubail.

In a move to further develop downstream industries in the Kingdom, the project will also provide feedstock for other petrochemical and specialty chemical plants located in the Jubail industrial area and beyond, representing an additional $4 billion investment by third party investors, benefitting the Saudi economy. The overall complex will represent an investment of approximately $9 billion and is expected to create 8,000 local direct and indirect jobs.

Announced in April 2018, the world-class complex will be located next to the SATORP state of the art refinery, operated by Saudi Aramco (62.5%) and Total (37.5%), in order to fully exploit operational synergies. It will comprise a mixed-feed cracker (50% ethane and refinery off-gases) – the first in the Arabian Gulf region to be integrated with a refinery – with a capacity of 1.5 million tons per year of ethylene and related high-added-value petrochemical units. The project represents an investment of approximately $5 billion and is scheduled to start-up in 2024.

During the signing ceremony, Saudi Aramco CEO said: “The petrochemicals sector has been undergoing significant growth globally and is one of the future growth engines. Thus, SATORP’s second-phase expansion represents a significant value addition in Saudi Aramco’s downstream strategy to maximize the full value of our vast resources portfolio and position the Kingdom as a chemicals manufacturing and exports hub, supporting economic growth and diversification as part of Vision 2030.”

Nasser added: “Today’s signing with our partner Total will deliver on multiple levels, from high-value fuels and petrochemical products never manufactured in the Kingdom before, destined for consumers on three continents to meaningful job creation for Saudi men and women and local content development. Our partnership with Total has evolved from a buyer-seller relationship of crude oil to one that has progressed to a strong long term partnership through SATORP and today we’re pleased to commemorate another major milestone as part of the SATORP journey.”

On his part, the chairman and CEO of Total said: “We are delighted to write a new page of our joint history by launching a new giant project, building on the successful development of SATORP, our biggest and most efficient refinery in the world. This world-class complex also fits with our strategy to expand in petrochemicals by maximizing the synergies within our major platforms, leveraging low-cost feedstocks and taking advantage of the fast growing Asian polymer market.”

Following the signature of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in April 2018, Saudi Aramco and Total have also reaffirmed today their commitment toward the joint development of fuel retail operation in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company (SATORP), the first such joint venture between the two energy companies, was established in June 2008 to build a refining and petrochemical complex in Jubail II industrial city. The refinery, whose capacity increased from 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil at its start-up in 2014 to 440,000 bpd today, is recognized as one of the most efficient in the world.

Total is a global integrated energy producer and provider, a leading international oil and gas company, a major player in low-carbon energies.