Saudi Aramco expects the first units of its new 400,000 bpd refinery complex, in the port city of Jizan, to be ready for start-up in 2017
The Jizan Refinery is part of a US$20bn plan to develop an industrial city in Jizan in southwestern Saudi Arabia, which would also include a 4,000 MW power plant, a commercial port and a refinery terminal, Reuters reported.
Saudi Aramco chief executive Khalid al-Falih said, “We expect start-up of some of the units, especially utilities, to take place in 2017, but the final completion would be in 2018.
“Designing is essentially completing. The foundation work is already ongoing by some of the construction contractors.”
But industry sources said in November last that construction of the new refinery had been delayed by a contractual dispute, putting back completion which was originally scheduled for late 2016.
Saudi Arabia’s oil minister Ali al-Naimi recently announced that development of the Jizan Economic City would not be affected by the drop in oil prices.
“The development of Jizan will continue, it will progress,” Naimi had said.
