Unit Additions on the Rise for Saudi Aramco's Jizan Refinery

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Although originally planned as a refinery for the private sector, the Jizan Refinery failed to attract enough foreign investment, and government-owned Saudi Aramco (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia), was directed to fully fund the refinery. Several foreign investors had made bids on the delayed refinery, plans for which were revealed in 2006. However, Saudi Aramco could not gain enough support because of concerns regarding crude oil supply.

The $7 billion refinery will be constructed near the coast of the Red Sea, close to the border of Yemen in the Jazan Economic City (JEC). JEC, which is currently under construction, will be the new industrial hub of the Middle East and will focus primarily on heavy and light industries. Below are a few of the recently announced unit additions that will join the 250,000- to 400,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) crude oil refinery. Civil construction on all additions is scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2012, and all construction is expected to finish in 2015.

• isomerization unit addition: $80 million, 35,000-BBL/d unit addition to convert low-octane paraffins to high-octane iso-parafins
• sulfur recovery complex addition: $400 million, 100-ton-per-day sulfur recovery unit complex with a supporting tail treater to include an amine treater and a sour water stripper
• naptha hydrotreater unit addition: $200 million, 70,000-BBL/d naphtha hydrotreater to support a continuous catalytic reformer (CCR)
• CCR unit addition: $400 million, 60,000-BBL/d CCR to convert low-octane naptha into a high-octane reformate for gasoline blending

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