2023-06-24 16:09:21
The Saudi oil giants Saudi Aramco and French TotalEnergies signed contracts on Saturday to build the new petrochemical complex of the SATORP refinery, operated by the two groups in Saudi Arabia.
“Today, when many players in the energy sector are hesitant to invest, I am delighted to see SATORP step up a gear with this $11 billion expansion project,” said the CEO of Aramco, Amin Nasser, during the signing ceremony in Dhahran, in the east of the kingdom.
There, it will smell of gas
This project, first announced in 2018 and finalized in December 2022, aims to build “one of the largest mixed-feed steam crackers in the Gulf, with a production capacity of 1.65 million tonnes per year of ethylene and other industrial gases,” the two groups said in a joint statement.
Eventually, “it should attract more than $4 billion in additional investment in various industrial sectors (…) and create around 7,000 direct and indirect local jobs,” they added.
The engineering, procurement and construction contracts were awarded to seven companies: South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Italy’s Maire Tecnimont, the Saudi subsidiary of China’s Sinopec Engineering, and four Saudi companies.
A word (or two) regarding the environment
The new complex, dubbed “Admiral”, will be integrated into the existing site in Jubail, on the eastern coast of the country, and is expected to begin commercial operations in 2027. “This expansion is essential as part of the kingdom’s growth and diversification objectives. said the boss of Aramco, the world’s largest exporter of crude oil.
For his part, the CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, underlined “the social and environmental commitments” made within the framework of this project, which “strengthens the relationship developed between the two companies for decades”.
Of the $11 billion planned, $4 billion will be financed with equity by Aramco (62.5%) and TotalEnergies (37.5%), the French giant said last December.
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