DHAHRAN: Saudi Aramco and France’s Total­­E­nergies on Satur­day signed contracts to start building an $11-billion petrochemicals facility in the Gulf kingdom, the two companies said.

A signing ceremony for the engineering, procurement and construction contr­acts for the Amiral complex took place at Aramco’s headquarters in Dhah­ran, in Saudi Arabi­a’s Eastern Province.

The move “marks the start of construction work on the joint petrochemical expansion”, Aramco and TotalEnergies said in a joint statement.

Seven companies were awarded contracts for the construction of the project in Jubail, on Saudi Arabia’s east coast. The facility is slated to begin operations in 2027.

The complex will enable Saudi Arabia’s SAT­ORP refinery to convert internally produced off-gases and naphtha, as well as ethane and natural gasoline supplied by Aramco, into higher-value chemicals.

It will have the capacity to produce 1.65 million tonnes per annum of ethylene and other industrial gases, Aramco said.

“As part of Aramco’s growth strategy, the project is anticipated to contribute to value-addition opportunities in the kingdom’s downstream ecosystem,” Aramco president Amin Nasser said at the signing ceremony.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2023