Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies have signed an $11 billion contract to start building a new petrochemicals complex in Saudi Arabia, the two companies said in a joint statement on Saturday.
"Aramco and TotalEnergies today awarded Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts for the $11 billion "Amiral" complex, a future world-scale petrochemicals facility expansion at the SATORP refinery in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the statement read.
A signing ceremony took place in Dhahran attended by Amin H. Nasser, Aramco President and CEO, and TotalEnergies Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné.
The award of EPC contracts for main process units and associated utilities marks the start of construction work on the joint petrochemical expansion, following the final investment decision in December 2022. Integrated with the existing SATORP refinery in Jubail, the new complex aims to house one of the largest mixed-load steam crackers in the Gulf, with a capacity to produce 1,650 kilotons per annum of ethylene and other industrial gases.
This expansion is expected to attract more than $4 billion in additional investment in a variety of industrial sectors, including carbon fibers, lubes, drilling fluids, detergents, food additives, automotive parts and tires. It is also expected to create around 7,000 local direct and indirect jobs.
“As part of Aramco’s growth strategy, the project is anticipated to contribute to value-addition opportunities in the Kingdom’s downstream ecosystem, and we thank the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Investment for their tremendous support via the Shareek program to make this multi-billion-dollar project a reality,” Nasser said.
As for Pouyanné, he said: “This expansion project reinforces the exemplary relationship that our two companies have enjoyed for several decades in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
