MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco is now rapidly leveraging its feedstock cost advantages and a favourable geographical portfolio to become a growing global competitor in chemical production, said Energyglobal.
The company’s portfolio ranges from oil and gas exploration, development and production, to refining and chemicals. Headquartered in Dhahran, in the kingdom’s eastern province, the company employs more than 57 000 employees in 77 countries.
Similar to the chemicals businesses of other oil and gas majors, Saudi Aramco’s product focus is comparatively narrow. The company produces commodity chemicals and polymers, including olefins and derivatives and aromatics. At present, Saudi Aramco’s chemical business accounts for approximately 10% of the corporation’s revenues and earnings, and is managed by the company.
Sanjay Sharma, vice president, Middle East and India at IHS Chemical said that despite their newness to the space, the company has driven continuous improvements in its domestic and international projects, mainly China, South Korea, Japan and the US.
According to a recent IHS report, Saudi Aramco has a number of other joint ventures, both in the region and elsewhere, including in South Korea, China, Japan, and the US where it holds a 50% share in Motiva Enterprises LLC. Motiva has three US locations – two in Louisiana, and one in Texas.
Saudi Aramco’s strategic projects located mainly in the Middle East and Northeast Asia cover the most demand thirsty markets in the world. Most of the plants, which are co-owned by Saudi Aramco, are new so there are almost no facilities that need to be revamped.
As MRC wrote before, Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical will transfer ownership of a planned 32 billion riyal (USD8.5 bln) petrochemical facility to their joint venture PetroRabigh. The new facility, known as Rabigh II, is to be built as an expansion of PetroRabigh's existing petrochemical plant, increasing output and introducing higher-margin products. Rabigh II will produce ethylene propylene rubber, thermoplastic polyolefin, methyl methacrylate monomer and polymethyl methacrylate among other products.
Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco's value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world's most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC