Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies SE have let major contracts to a series of service providers for construction of a proposed grassroots petrochemical complex to be integrated into their existing joint venture Saudi Aramco Total Refinery & Petrochemicals Co.’s (Satorp) 460,000 b/d full-conversion refinery complex at Jubail, on Saudi Arabia’s eastern coast (OGJ Online, Dec. 15, 2022).
Awarded on June 24 to officially mark start of construction on the project, the seven contracts cover engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) work on main process units and associated utilities of the planned $11-billion Amiral complex, TotalEnergies and Aramco said in separate releases.
The partners specifically awarded EPC contracts to:
- Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. for the complex’s mixed-feed cracker that will be equipped to produce 1.65 million tonnes/year (tpy) of ethylene and related industrial gases. This contract also includes EPC for associated utilities, flares, and interconnecting systems to support the project’s other main packages.
- Maire Tecnimont SPA for two polyethylene units—each with a capacity of 500,000 tpy—based on proprietary Advanced Dual Loop technology codeveloped by TotalEnergies and Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LLC—and derivative units.
- Sinopec Engineering Group Saudi Co. Ltd. for the complex’s associated tank farm and integration works with the refinery.
- Gulf Consolidated Contractors Co. for associated transfer pipelines.
- Mohammed Ali Al-Suwailem Trading & Contracting Co. for unspecified industrial support installations.
- Mofarreh Marzouq Al Harbi & Partners Co. Ltd. for site preparation works.
- Mobarak M. Al Salomi & Partners for Contracting Co. for unidentified temporary installations related to overall project construction.
The contract awards follow the December 2022 final investment decision by the partners to advance the multibillion-dollar project, $4 billion of which will be funded through equity by Aramco (62.5%) and TotalEnergies (37.5%).
To be owned, operated, and integrated with Satorp’s refinery, the proposed Amiral complex would enable Satorp to convert internally produced refinery offgases and naphtha, as well as ethane and natural gasoline supplied by Aramco, into high-demand chemicals as part of Aramco’s plan to advance its liquids-to-chemicals strategy.
Alongside the cracker and polyethylene units, the complex will include a units for the extraction of butadiene and aromatics, as well as other yet-to-be-identified associated derivative units, according to a project description from TotalEnergies’ website.
Scheduled to begin commercial operations in 2027, the Amiral complex aims to provide feedstock to proposed petrochemical and specialty chemical plants slated to be built, owned, and operated in the Jubail industrial area by other global downstream investors for manufacturing of carbon fibers, lubes, drilling fluids, detergents, food additives, automotive parts, and tires, Aramco and TotalEnergies said.
The planned Satorp petrochemical complex also complements the two companies’ shared commitments of expanding sustainable, efficient production of advanced chemicals by maximizing synergies within an integrated refining and petrochemicals platform to support a circular economy.
TotalEnergies said reducing the site's environmental footprint forms an integral part of the project's construction strategy, with particular attention to be paid to the complex’s carbon intensity in line with the partners’ shared goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 as part of the broader global energy transition.
