Saudi Arabia & KAUST - National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce

ExxonMobil’s
Successful
Partnerships in
Saudi Arabia Foster
Opportunities for
Growth
As one of the largest foreign investors in
Saudi Arabia, ExxonMobil maintains
strong business relationships with both
Saudi Aramco and SABIC. Over the years,
these partnerships have lead to continued
growth in refining and petrochemical
manufacturing to meet global energy and
petrochemical needs.
ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco partnered
with the Chinese government to build the
first, fully integrated petroleum refining,
chemical and marketing joint venture in
Quanzjou, Fujian Province, China. In 2009,
the joint venture announced the start-up of
the new 8 million tons-per-year refining unit,
and the 800-thousand-tons-per-year steam
cracker and polyethylene, polypropylene, and
aromatics facilities.
ExxonMobil Chemical and Saudi Basic
Industries Corporation (SABIC), are
progressing detailed studies to grow their
existing petrochemical joint ventures in Jubail
(Kemya) and Yanbu (Yanpet). The project
would have a combined production capacity
of 400,000 tons per year of carbon black,
rubber and specialty polymers to serve
emerging domestic and international markets.
The project scope includes a vocational
training institute and product application
development and support center and is aligned
with Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial
Clusters Development Program.
The SAMREF Yanbu refining joint
venture between ExxonMobil and Saudi
Aramco processes more than 400,000 barrels
of Saudi Arab Light crude every day. A $400
million (USD) engineering contract for a
clean fuels project at SAMREF was recently
announced. The two-phase project will be
completed in 2015.
ExxonMobil Chemical Technology
Licensing LLC recently signed an agreement
with Saudi International Petrochemical
Company (Sipchem) to license ExxonMobil’s
tubular high pressure low density polyethylene
process (HPPE) technology for Sipchem’s new
world-scale ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) plant.
The 200,000 metric ton per year plant will
be built in Jubail Industrial City, as a part of
ExxonMobil’s relationship with Saudi
Arabia began over 60 years ago, when its
heritage companies were partners in the
formation of the Arabian American Oil
Company, known at that time as the Aramco
consortium. As one of the first joint venture
partners with the then newly-established
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC),
ExxonMobil entered into two of the earliest
petrochemical manufacturing projects more
than 28 years ago.
Partnering with Saudi Aramco and
SABIC, ExxonMobil has been operating
world-class plants for more than 25 years
in the Kingdom. These including the
following 50/50 joint ventures:
• KEMYA – Al-Jubail Petrochemical
Company JV with SABIC;
• SAMREF – Saudi Aramco Mobil
Refinery JV with Saudi Aramco
• YANPET – Saudi Yanbu
Petrochemical Company JV with
SABIC. Following an expansion in
2000, YANPET is one of the world’s
largest petrochemical facilities.
Today, the joint ventures in which
ExxonMobil has interests employ over 3,000
Saudi nationals. ExxonMobil is the largest
purchaser of Saudi crude oil exports,
Sipchem’s third phase projects. It will be
operational by the end of 2013.
ExxonMobil is the world’s largest publicly
traded integrated petroleum and natural gas
company, and a global leader in the petrochemical
industry.
At a Glance: ExxonMobil in Saudi Arabia
accounting for approximately 10 percent of
the Kingdom’s total exports. Saudi Arabia
is the largest single supplier of raw materials
to ExxonMobil’s worldwide refinery system.
The company’s long-term
commitment extends beyond
that of an investor and
joint-venture partner.
The company’s long-term commitment
extends beyond that of an investor and
joint-venture partner. ExxonMobil engages
in a range of philanthropic activities to
improve the quality of life in the communities
where the company invests. In the
Kingdom, ExxonMobil supports a number
of health and education initiatives including:
Prince Salman Center for Disability
Research, Disabled Children’s Association,
King Abdul ‘Aziz and His Companions
Foundation for the Gifted and Junash
Archaeological Excavation. The ExxonMobil
Middle East and North Africa Scholars
Program offers scholarship opportunities
at a college or university in the United
States to select students from the Middle
East and North Africa.
US-Arab Tradeline • Fall 2009 33