Riyadh – Mubasher: The Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) announced the expansion of the scope of converting crude oil to chemicals project with the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco).

The expansion will include existing development programmes of advancing crude to chemicals technologies through integrating existing facilities to maximise the economic value while evaluating the optimal technical options and market risks, according to a bourse filing on Sunday.  

In November 2017, the two firms signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to study the feasibility of developing an industrial complex to convert crude oil to chemicals (COTC). They entered into a $20 billion joint venture (JV).

Therefore, the two parties plan to re-evaluate the scope of the COTC complex project and study the integration of Saudi Aramco’s existing refineries in Yanbu with a world-scale mixed feed steam cracker and downstream olefin derivative units.

“SABIC and Saudi Aramco remain committed to continue advancing crude to chemicals technologies through existing development programs with the goal to increase cost efficiency, competitiveness, and value creation opportunities for petrochemicals,” the statement concluded.