Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies of France have won the contract to build the Amiral petrochemical complex worth 11 billion dollars in Byblos, the eastern province of the Kingdom. The two companies stated that after the final investment decision was made in December 2022, the award of engineering, procurement, and construction contracts for the main processing units and related utilities marked the beginning of construction work for the main projects.

The new petrochemical complex, combined with the Saudi Aramco Comprehensive Refinery and Petrochemical Refinery in Byblos, will accommodate the largest mixed load steam cracking unit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which can produce 1.65 million tons of ethylene and other Industrial gas every year.

It is expected that this expansion will attract over $4 billion in additional investment in various industrial sectors and directly or indirectly create approximately 7000 job opportunities in Saudi Arabia. The statement states that industries that will benefit from the complex include carbon fiber, lubricants, drilling fluids, detergents, food additives, automotive parts, and tires.

The seven companies that have been awarded contracts are Hyundai Engineering&Construction, Maire Tecnimont, Sinopec Engineering Group Saudi, Gulf Consolidated Contractors, Mohammed Ali Al Suwailem Trading and Contracting, Mofarreh Marzouq Al Harbi and Partners, and Mobarak M Al Salomi and Partners for Construction.

Amin Nasser, president and CEO of Saudi Aramco, and Patrick Puyaan, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, held a signing ceremony in Dharan, formally confirming these agreements.

According to the International Energy Agency, the current energy environment also provides an opportunity: according to the current policy and Market trend, crude oil demand will increase by 6% between 2022 and 2028, reaching 105.7 million barrels per day. This is expected to be supported by strong demand from the petrochemical and aviation industries, the agency stated in its interim oil market report.

Saudi Aramco is also expanding its business beyond the kingdom. In March 2023, Saudi Arabia announced that China would begin building a large refinery and petrochemical complex. Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Company is developing the complex, which can process 300000 barrels of oil per day, and a petrochemical plant with an annual output of 1.65 million tons of ethylene and 2 million tons of P-Xylene.

According to Grand View Research, the global petrochemical market is expected to exceed $1 trillion by 2030, while it is estimated to be $584.5 billion in 2022, with a compound annual growth rate of 7% starting from 2023. This landmark agreement opens a new page in our shared history with Saudi Aramco, and this expansion project strengthens the exemplary relationship that our two companies have enjoyed in the kingdom for decades, "Mr. Pouyann é said.

The partnership between Saudi Aramco and Total was also established after the French Saudi Arabian Investment Forum, which signed $2.9 billion worth of transactions and preliminary agreements involving multiple key industries, including energy.

In 2021, Saudi Aramco announced plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, after Saudi Arabia stated plans to neutralize its emissions by 2060. As part of an investment by oil companies to expand production capacity to 13 million barrels per day, Saudi Aramco is increasing its natural gas processing capacity.Editor/XingWentao