State-owned Saudi Aramco and petrochemical maker SABIC have decided to reevaluate their $20-billion project to build a complex that will process crude oil into chemicals, Reuters reported. Instead, SABIC on Sunday stated that both firms are now considering integrating Aramco’s refineries in Yanbu with a steam cracker and olefin derivatives production lines.
A preliminary agreement on the oil-to-chemical project was signed in 2017. However, the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the energy market this year, forcing oil producers to reassess major projects to conserve cash. Aramco and SABIC said that they would maintain commitments to developing oil-to-chemicals technologies through existing programs with the aims of improving competitiveness, cost efficiency, and value addition for petrochemicals.
