Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical Company have decided to go ahead with the expansion phase of their petrochemical project Rabigh
The project located on the Red Sea coast is expected to begin operations in the first half of 2016 with the total project investment currently projected to reach approximately $7 billion.
In a statement, Sumitomo Chemical said the decision to go ahead with the expansion was "based on the outcome of the joint feasibility study".
Both companies will now finalise various project elements, including contracts for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and other project-related agreements, as well as project financing.
“Our long standing partnership with Sumitomo Chemical continues to make further in roads with Rabigh II representing a significant milestone in Saudi Aramco’s downstream portfolio expansion and diversification strategy,” said Saudi Aramco president and chief executive officer Khalid Al-Falih.
Rabigh II’s development will include a new aromatics complex, as well as an expanded facility to process 30 million standard cubic feet per day of ethane and approximately 3 million tonnes per year of naphtha as feedstock to produce a variety of high value-added petrochemical products, according to Sumitomo Chemical.
The plant’s main products will be ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM), thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO), methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), low-density polyethylene/ethylene vinyl acetate (LDPE/EVA), para-xylene/benzene, cumene and phenol/acetone.
Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical each own 37.5 per cent of Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical. The remainder is owned by general investors.
