Saudi Aramco’s chemical production to triple by 2030

According to Reuters, Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Saudi Aramco plans to increase its chemical production to 34 million tons/year from 12 million tons/year by 2030. Also, the company’s global refining capacity is expected to increase from the current 5 million barrels/day to 8-10 million barrels/day by the same year.

As part of the country’s 2030 economic reform plan which intends to diversify the economy away from oil, Aramco has focused on the integration of its refineries with petrochemical infrastructure with the aim of developing its downstream business, diversifying its operations and expanding its sales of refined products.

This year Aramco started up the first mixed-feed cracker in the Middle East at its Sadara Chemical Company, a JV with US Dow Chemical. Its PetroRabigh facility, namely Rabigh 2, a JV with Japanese Sumitomo Chemical, is also being expanded, the reports indicate.

The Sadara and Petro Rabigh facilities are expected to raise the company’s total chemicals production to more than 15 million tons/year.