Aramco and TotalEnergies have awarded billions of dollars in Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts for the US$11bn "Amiral" complex, a future world scale petrochemicals facility expansion at the SATORP refinery in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
They include a record US$5bn EPC contract to Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. for a mixed feed cracker and utilities, with a nameplate capacity of 1,650 kta of ethylene and related industrial gases, and utilities, flares and interconnecting systems that support main packages within the facilities. It is reported to be the largest order a South Korean firm has ever won for plant construction in the Kingdom.
They also include two contracts worth together around US$2bn to Maire Tecnimont SpA, one for the Derivatives Units and one and the “High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) & Logistic Area” package, which includes two polyethylene units using Advanced Dual Loop technology and the relevant product logistic facilities.
Other contracts go to Sinopec Engineering Group Saudi Co. for Tank Farm and SATORP integration; Gulf Consolidated Contractors Co.. for the transfer pipelines; Mohammed Ali Al-Suwailem Trading & Contracting Co. for industrial support facilities; Mofarreh Marzouq Al Harbi & Partners Co. for site preparation; and Mobarak M. Al Salomi & Partners for Contracting Co. for temporary construction facilities.
The award of EPC contracts for main process units and associated utilities marks the start of construction work on this joint project, following the final investment decision in December 2022. Integrated with the SATORP existing refinery in Jubail, the new petrochemical complex will house the largest mixed-load steam cracker in the Gulf, with a capacity to produce 1.65mn tons of ethylene and other industrial gases per year. The petrochemical facility will enable conversion of internally produced refinery off-gases and naphtha, as well as ethane and natural gasoline, into higher value chemicals.
This expansion is expected to attract more than US$4bn in additional investment in a variety of industrial sectors (carbon fibres, lubes, drilling fluids, detergents, food additives, automotive parts and tyres) and create around 7,000 direct and indirect jobs in the country.
Amin H. Nasser, Aramco president & CEO, said, “Today we are taking a major step forward in further strengthening the partnership between TotalEnergies and Aramco, with the SATORP expansion project being the latest in a longstanding history of collaboration of almost five decades between both companies. As part of Aramco’s growth strategy, the project is anticipated to contribute to value-addition opportunities in the Kingdom’s downstream ecosystem, and we thank the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Investment for their tremendous support via the Shareek program to make this multi-billion-dollar project a reality.”
Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies said, “This landmark opens a new page in our shared history with Aramco, which we are delighted to be associated with once again. This expansion project reinforces the exemplary relationship that our two companies have enjoyed for several decades in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We would like to thank the Ministry of Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its support throughout the development of this world-class project.”
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