DAMMAM, 11 January 2005 — Saudi Aramco, which recently signed a project management contract (PMC) to expand a Chinese refinery, is now better prepared to meet both the challenges and opportunities that 2005 will bring. “We’ll strive to reach even higher standards of achievement,” Saudi Aramco President and Chief Executive Officer Abdallah S. Jum’ah has said. “The pace and complexity of our operations will only continue to increase in the year to come,” he said of a review of Saudi Aramco’s 2004 performance.
Saudi Aramco affiliate Aramco Overseas Co. (AOC) and its joint venture partners — ExxonMobil and Fujian Petrochemicals Ltd. — were involved in signing the PMC with a consortium of ABB Lummus and Sinopec Engineering Institute for the Fujian Integrated Project (FIP). The project will expand the existing capacity of the refinery in the Fujian province of China from 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 240,000 bpd, with significant product upgrading capability, using Arabian crude oil as feedstock.
The project will also include a new 800,000 ton per year ethylene steam cracker, polyethylene and polypropylene units and a new 700,000 ton per year paraxylene unit. The PMC contractor will have the overall responsibility for initially developing the front-end loading and engineering, procurement and construction packages. Later, the PMC will participate in managing the detailed design, procurement and construction of the multibillion dollar FIP.
Front-end engineering is set to be completed in 17 months, and the entire project is planned to be completed in the second half of 2008.
“We’ve promised our shareholders and customers worldwide that we’ll continue to be the most reliable supplier of oil anywhere in the world, and I look forward to a 2005 marked by even greater successes,” he said.
Reaffirming Saudi Aramco’s position as a trusted partner of leading companies in the oil industry around the world, he said 2004 was fraught with uncertainties borne of geopolitical tensions in the region. “Despite challenges, and with the dedication and hard work of thousands of company employees, we’ve seen 2004 as an opportunity to bolster the Kingdom’s reputation as a steady, reliable supplier of energy to the world.”