Saudi Aramco, Total study mixed feed cracker with input capacity of 1.5 mtpa

05-Jul-17

Saudi Aramco and France's Total are considering building a mixed-feed cracker and derivatives in Jubail, near their joint refining complex, as per industry sources in Reuters. The cracker is expected to have a capacity of 1.5 mln tpa, said a source familiar with the plans, who described them as at an initial stage. The feedstock would partially come from SATORP, the existing Aramco-Total joint refining venture, and from Sadara, a joint venture between Aramco and Dow Chemical, also in Jubail. Sadara operates a mixed-feed cracker, the first in Saudi Arabia.

Despite having massive natural gas reserves, Saudi Arabia is short of gas supplies as the majority of its gas reserves are associated with oil, said energy consultant Sadad al-Husseini, a former senior executive at Aramco. Saudi Arabia is currently restricting oil output as part of an international agreement. "There remains of course the potential for more gas. Discoveries as the kingdom's shale gas exploration programme gathers momentum," he said, adding the availability of ethane would be key to the overall economics of the project. Saudi Aramco plans to double its gas production in a decade, including shale that will add around 2-3 billion standard cubic feet to the mix. But the kingdom is encouraging the petrochemicals industry to include more liquid feedstock to diversify and become less vulnerable to price fluctuations.