Saudi Aramco and French energy and chemical company Total SA have signed a memorandum of understanding to build a “giant petrochemical complex” in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
The complex will be integrated downstream of the SATORP refinery, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Total, the French company announced April 10.
Saudi Aramco owns 62.5 percent and Total 37.5 percent of the SATORP JV in Jubail.
The $5 billion investment will comprise a “world-size” mixed-feed steam cracker with a capacity of 1.5 million metric tonnes per year of ethylene and related high-added-value petrochemical units.
Front-end engineering and design (FEED) is expected to start in the third quarter of 2018.
The cracker will feed other petrochemical and specialty chemical plants representing an overall amount of $4 billion investment by third party investors.
In total, $9 billion will be invested in the project, which will produce more than 2.7 million tonnes of high value chemicals.
This project, said Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of Total, will tap into low-cost feedstock to supply to the “fast-growing Asian polymer market."