Saudi Aramco has revealed its efforts to strike a better balance between upstream and downstream industries in the Kingdom
Speaking at the 4th Saudi Downstream Forum, taking place in Jubail, Saudi Aramco president and CEO Amin H Nasser described the company’s strategy to strike a better balance between its upstream capacity of 12mn bpd of crude oil and its current refining capacity of 5.4mn bpd in the country and worldwide. The company plans to raise their total global refining capacity throughput to between eight and 10mn bpd.
Saudi Aramco plans to strengthen the downstream sector by maximising value for the country’s crude oil production, enabling the creation of conversion industries that produce semi-finished and finished goods to diversify the economy, developing advanced technologies and innovation and enabling the country’s sustainable development.
Describing this move, Nasser said, “While Saudi Arabia certainly needs its commodities production strength, we also need to radically alter the downstream equation to derive greater benefits in-Kingdom, through knowledge-based and innovation-driven small and medium sized enterprises.”
Saudi Aramco is collaborating with the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu and the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority to build value parks and locate service providers adjacent to petrochemical facilities such as Rabigh PlusTech Park at Petro Rabigh on the west coast and the PlasChem Park adjoining Sadara in Jubail Industrial City.
