LONDON (ICIS)–Saudi Aramco is planning to scale up and commercialise its thermal crude-to-chemicals technology, the Saudi energy major said on Thursday.
Aramco said that it signed a joint development agreement with US petrochemicals engineer CB&I and Chevron Lummus Global (CLG) to advance scale-up and commercialisation of the technology, which will enable higher chemicals yields than previously achievable.
With the technology, producers can bypass conventional refining steps by employing a proprietary direct conversion process, the company said.
“Today’s joint development agreement with CB&I and CLG is a technological first which will position Saudi Aramco to maximise the value of each barrel of crude oil it produces in the near future,” said Aramco’s president and CEO, Amin Nasser.
CLG’s managing director, Leon de Bruyn, added: “CLG’s hydroprocessing technologies and CB&I’s ethylene cracker technology combined with Saudi Aramco’s proprietary thermal crude- to-chemicals technology will provide a strong foundation for this joint development.”
CLG is a process technology joint venture between CB&I and Chevron.