Saudi Aramco Sells Gasification, Power Joint Venture at Jizan for $8 Bn

Aramco’s corporate management visit the Jizan refinery and terminal mega-project. (file Photo: Aramco)
Aramco’s corporate management visit the Jizan refinery and terminal mega-project. (file Photo: Aramco)
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Saudi Aramco Sells Gasification, Power Joint Venture at Jizan for $8 Bn

Aramco’s corporate management visit the Jizan refinery and terminal mega-project. (file Photo: Aramco)
Aramco’s corporate management visit the Jizan refinery and terminal mega-project. (file Photo: Aramco)

Saudi Aramco announced it had signed a term sheet to form a Gasification and Power joint venture (JV) located at Jizan Economic City (JEC) in Saudi Arabia.

The JV will own and operate the facility under a 25-year contract and Aramco will supply feedstock to the JV, and it will produce power, hydrogen and other utilities for the company.

Air Products will own at least 55 percent of the venture, with Aramco and ACWA Power owning the remaining.

The consortium will increase job opportunities and transfer the most advanced technologies in this field to the Kingdom, and enable Saudi talent to employ this technology for the first time.

The JV will serve Aramco’s Jizan Refinery and terminal at JEC will process heavy and medium crude oil to create liquefied petroleum gas, sulfur, asphalt, benzene and paraxylene, and add 400,000 barrels per day of refining capacity.

Saudi Aramco Senior Vice President of Downstream Abdulaziz al-Judaimi announced that the venture will be central to the self-sufficiency of the company’s megaprojects at Jizan.

Judaimi added that it will enhance the overall value of the refinery and integrated gasification combined cycle power plant, and aid in transforming the province by positioning JEC for additional foreign direct investment and private sector involvement.

Air Products Chairman, President and CEO, Seifi Ghasemi, expressed his company’s honor to be given this outstanding opportunity to expand its involvement in this megaproject in partnership with Aramco and ACWA Power.

“Building on the success of our Lu’An project in China, this new project further extends Air Products’ leadership position supplying syngas to major companies around the world. We appreciate the trust that Saudi Aramco continues to place in us, first in awarding us the air separation unit, and now moving toward an expanded scope of supply at Jizan,” he noted.

Ghasemi noted that the JV furthers the efforts of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model to develop critical infrastructure assets in the region, a key component of the Kingdom’s Saudi Vision 2030.

As for ACWA Power Chairman, Mohammad Abunayyan, he asserted that his company is committed to the expansion of the PPP model into the power sector.

Abunayyan explained that ACWA Power plays an important role in the power sector in Saudi Arabia and welcomes the opportunity to assist in the further development of Jizan's economic corridor.

“Furthermore, our collaboration with industry-leading companies, Saudi Aramco and Air Products, will stimulate growth and innovation, aligned with Saudi Vision 2030,” he concluded.



India and EU to Finalize Free Trade Agreement by Year-end

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) addresses a joint press briefing as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens, after their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) addresses a joint press briefing as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens, after their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP)
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India and EU to Finalize Free Trade Agreement by Year-end

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) addresses a joint press briefing as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens, after their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) addresses a joint press briefing as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens, after their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP)

India will finalize a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal with the European Union by the end of this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday after meeting with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.

"We have asked our teams to work out a mutually beneficial bilateral free trade agreement by the end of this year," Modi said in New Delhi.

Von der Leyen, who is on a two-day visit to India with her college of commissioners, is seeking to hedge against souring relations with the United States and said they were "expecting a lot from our trade negotiators".

Deeper access to India's rapidly expanding market was at the top of the delegation's agenda, and the EU chief looked visibly pleased after her meeting with Modi and his ministers, AFP reported.

The EU is already India's largest trading partner, accounting for 124 billion euros ($130 billion) worth of trade in goods in 2023 -- more than 12 percent of total Indian trade, according to Brussels.

The Indian market offers many opportunities for sectors ranging from defense to agriculture, cars and clean energy. Yet, protected by high tariffs, it currently accounts for only 2.2 percent of EU trade in goods.

"We have tasked our teams to build on this momentum and finalize our FTA before the end of the year," von der Leyen said in a statement after the meeting.

Standing beside Modi, the EU chief added: "We told them they should surprise us".

The bloc is pushing for a trade deal that lowers entry barriers for its cars, spirits, wines and other products.

India meanwhile hopes for higher EU investments in areas such as clean energy, urban infrastructure and water management.

New Delhi is also pushing for easier mobility for its skilled workforce and higher investments for ventures in India.

Von der Leyen's visit, billed as the first of its kind to the world's fifth-largest economy, comes days after US President Donald Trump announced a slew of tariffs against both friends and foes.