Saudi oil giants Saudi Aramco and France’s TotalEnergies signed contracts on Saturday to build the new SATORP refinery petrochemical complex, operated by the two groups in Saudi Arabia. “Today, at a time when many players in the energy sector are hesitant to invest, I am delighted to see SATORP step up with this $11 billion expansion project,” Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said during the induction ceremony. firm in Dhahran, in the east of the kingdom.
This project, first announced in 2018 and completed 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 tons per year of ethylene and other industrial gases,” the two groups said in a joint statement.
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.
Start of commercial operations in 2027
The new complex, dubbed “Admiral”, will be integrated into the existing site at Jubail on the country’s east coast, and is expected to begin commercial operations in 2027. “This expansion is essential as part of the kingdom’s growth and diversification goals. said the head of Aramco, the world’s biggest crude oil exporter. For his part, the CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, highlighted “the social and environmental commitments” acquired within the framework of this project, which “reinforces the relationship developed between the two companies for decades.”
Of the expected 11 billion dollars, 4 billion dollars will be financed with capital by Aramco (62.5%) and TotalEnergies (37.5%), the French giant said last December.
Source: BFM TV
