Saudi Arabia plans oil-to-petrochemicals plant in Yanbu

07 Mar '14

2 min read

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is planning to construct a plant that could directly convert crude oil into petrochemicals like ethylene and propylene, without first refining the oil, Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, has said, reports Saudi Gazette.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest crude oil exporter and the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) has been researching for years to find ways to directly make ethylene and propylene from crude oil.

Addressing a conference in Yanbu, a major Red Sea port in the Al Madinah province of western Saudi Arabia, located at about 300 km northwest of Jeddah, Mr. Al-Naimi said the Ministry is studying an innovative technology to set up an integrated industrial plant for the production of petrochemicals from crude oil, without any need to build a conventional oil refinery.

The proposed oil-to-petrochemicals complex would be built at Yanbu, in collaboration with Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), one of the world’s largest chemicals companies.

Mr. Al-Naimi said the proposed oil-to-petrochemicals project would create new employment opportunities for Saudi youth in Yanbu, which already boasts of several oil refineries and petrochemical plants.

Saudi Arabian economy heavily depends on revenues from export of crude oil and hence the Government’s strategy is to diversify the economy by developing the country’s petrochemical sector.

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