Saudi Aramco, a leading global energy company, and French oil and gas major Total have signed a joint development agreement for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) of a giant petrochemical complex in Jubail.

The agreement was signed by Amin H Nasser, president and chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco and Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and chief executive officer of Total in Dhahran.

Announced in April, the world-class complex will be located next to the Satorp state-of-the-art refinery, operated by Saudi Aramco (62.5 per cent) and Total (37.5 per cent), in order to fully exploit operational synergies.

It will comprise a mixed-feed cracker (50 per cent ethane and refinery off-gases) – the first in the Arabian Gulf to be integrated with a refinery – with a capacity of 1.5 million tons per year of ethylene and related high-added-value petrochemical units. The project represents an investment of approximately $5 billion and is due to start-up in 2024.

The project will also provide feedstock for other petrochemical and specialty chemical plants located in the Jubail industrial area and beyond, representing an additional $4 billion investment by third-party investors. The overall complex will represent an investment of about $9 billion.

Nasser said: “The petrochemicals sector has been undergoing significant growth globally and is a future growth engine. Thus, Satorp’s second-phase expansion represents a significant value addition in Aramco’s downstream strategy to maximise the full value of our vast resources portfolio and position the kingdom as a chemicals manufacturing and exports hub, supporting economic growth and diversification as part of Vision 2030.”