Saudi Aramco and SABIC have selected the Yanbu region, on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, as the site for the development of an integrated industrial complex to convert crude oil to chemicals (COTC)
The complex aims to utilise an economically viable, innovative configuration to convert crude oil to chemicals. This process is unprecedented in the industry.
The COTC complex is expected to process 400,000 bpd of crude oil, which will produce approximately nine million tonnes of chemicals and base oils annually and is expected to start operations in 2025.
The complex is expected to create an estimated 30,000 direct and indirect jobs, further stimulating the Kingdom’s economic diversification efforts. By 2030 the COTC complex is expected to have a 1.5 per cent impact on the kingdom’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with investments being shared equally by both companies.
Consistent with Saudi Arabia’s vision 2030 economic transformation programme, this project will support the creation of a world-leading downstream sector in Saudi Arabia, built on four major drivers:
– Maximising value from the kingdom’s crude oil production via integration across the hydrocarbon chain
– Enabling the creation of conversion industries to produce semi-finished and finished goods to help diversify the economy
– Developing advanced technologies and innovation
– Enabling sustainable development in alignment with the kingdom’s national transformation programme
The announcement strengthens the alliance between the two largest Saudi global entities and solidifies the kingdom’s position as a global leader in chemicals by substantially increasing production and maximising value across the entire hydrocarbons chain.
Earlier this year, Saudi Aramco and SABIC awarded the project management and front-end engineering to Wood and KBR. The partners are working on finalising the selection of Leading Edge Technologies to complement their technologies.
