$11 billion invested! Saudi Aramco and Total will build new petrochemical projects

On December 15, Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) and Total Energy have made a final investment decision on the construction of a world-class petrochemical facility in Saudi Arabia, planning to invest $11 billion to build a new petrochemical complex.

The new facility, named Amiral, will be part of, operated and integrated by, the SATORP refinery in Jubail, on the east coast of Saudi Arabia. Through this petrochemical facility, SATORP will convert waste gas and naphtha produced in-house, as well as ethane and natural gas delivered by Saudi Aramco, into higher-value chemicals that are expected to further Aramco's petrochemical strategy.

The facility will include a mixed-feedstock cracker that can produce 1.65 million tonnes of ethylene per year, the first in the Gulf to be integrated with an oil refinery. The facility will also include two state-of-the-art polyethylene units with advanced dual-circuit technology, a butadiene extraction unit and other related derivatives units.

The investment scale of the project is up to US$11 billion, of which US$4 billion will be completed by Saudi Aramco (62.5%) and Total Energies (37.5%) through equity contributions. The facility is scheduled to begin construction in the first quarter of 2023 and enter commercial operation in 2027.

The complex will provide feedstock for other petrochemical and specialty chemical plants located within the Jubail Industrial Zone, which will be built, owned and operated by globally renowned downstream investors with an estimated additional investment of $4 billion.