Saudi Arabia has signed Petrochemical agreements worth more than $2 billion

Saudi Arabia recently announced a new petrochemical investment deal worth more than $2 billion, including a new polyacrylamide plant and Jubail's ammonia project. Saudi Arabia General Investment Agency (sagia) signed these deals with five chemical companies in Riyadh, namely BASF, shell, Mitsui, SNF and AMG. Sagia and Mitsui have signed a $1 billion agreement to assess the capacity of an ammonia plant in Jubail, with an estimated annual capacity of 1 million tons. According to a twitter post by sagia, the two sides also agreed to jointly develop downstream opportunities for special chemicals. Shell and sagia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to study the potential of building waste residue and upgrading catalyst manufacturing facilities in Jubail, shell said in a separate statement on November 21. Residuum lift catalysts are essential to help refineries upgrade the bottom of their barrels to more valuable products, including the production of petrochemical feedstocks. Andy Gauss, President of shell catalyst technology, said that the new global fuel regulations and increasing attention to oil and chemicals have greatly increased the number of residual oil upgrading units that are already in operation, under construction or under planning. With these opportunities, the production of large quantities of catalysts will face challenges. In addition, sagia signed a memorandum of understanding with German chemical giant BASF to assess opportunities in Saudi Arabia and another memorandum of understanding with SNF to assess the polyacrylamide plant in Jubail. Saudi national foreign investment licensing provider has also signed a $400 million partnership agreement with AMG to assess the feasibility of establishing a precious metal recycling facility in Saudi Arabia.