State oil giant Saudi Aramco and Sabic, a global leader in diversified chemicals, have jointly awarded a major contract to KBR, a leading global provider of project management, and professional and engineering services in the petrochemicals industry, for its fully-integrated crude oil-to-chemicals (COTC) complex in the kingdom.
The JV partners said the awarding of the COTC project management and front-end engineering and design (Feed) contract is a second significant step toward the implementation of the giant facility.
This comes following the signing of an MoU by Saudi Aramco and Sabic in November last year to assist in bringing the giga-project to its next stage of development, said a statement from Saudi Aramco.
The contract primarily covers the finalisation of the project scope, selection of technology providers, update on project economics, and performance of front-end engineering and design, it added.
Commenting on the new milestone, Saudi Aramco president and CEO Amin H Nasser said: “We are moving forward with the implementation of our strategies and plans towards further integration and value creation.”
“The award of this second project management contract to KBR not only strengthens the project with additional world-class experience, but is yet another milestone in the kingdom’s continuous drive to redirect and optimise its abundant natural resources and maximisze its chemicals yield,” noted Nasser.
“With the addition of KBR to the project, Saudi Aramco and Sabic are confident that the right parties are now in place to see the project through its initial phases and the inclusion of a high proportion of local content,” Nasser added.
Sabic vice-chairman and CEO Yousef Al Benyan said: “This contract award to KBR is a major advance by the two leading industrial companies in Saudi Arabia – Sabic and Saudi Aramco – towards establishing a large petrochemical facility in support of Saudi Arabia’s vision of creating job opportunities, initiating new industrial technologies, and diversifying the product portfolio.”
By 2030, the COTC complex is expected to be a significant contributor to Saudi Arabia’s GDP and play a key role in helping the continued economic transformation away from crude exports to higher-value industrial products, further stimulating the kingdom’s diversification of the downstream sector.
“The acceleration of the project’s milestones signifies the determination of the joint venture partners to achieve the project objectives,” he added.
