SABIC, Saudi Aramco to expand scope of oil-to-chemicals project

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) plans to expand the scope of its Crude Oil to Chemicals (COTC) project with Saudi Aramco to include existing development programs of advancing crude to chemicals technologies as well as through integrating existing facilities, the petrochemical firm said in a statement to Tadawul.

The decision came after considering the future plans and opportunities of the two companies, the statement said.

SABIC and Saudi Aramco are looking at opportunities for integration with existing facilities to maximize the economic value while evaluating the optimal technical options and market risks, it added.

Consequently, both parties intend to re-evaluate the scope of the COTC complex project and study the integration of Saudi Aramco’s existing refineries in Yanbu with a world-scale mixed feed steam cracker and downstream olefin derivative units.

SABIC and Saudi Aramco remain committed to continue advancing crude-to-chemicals technologies through existing development programs with the goal to increase cost efficiency, competitiveness and value creation opportunities for petrochemicals, the statement said.

According to the data available with Argaam, SABIC and Saudi Aramco signed in June 2017 a preliminary agreement to conduct a joint study to establish an industrial complex in the Kingdom to convert crude oil to chemicals.

In November 2017, the two firms signed a memorandum of understanding to develop the world's largest integrated complex to convert crude oil into chemicals.