Principals representing Saudi Aramco, ConocoPhillips and Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) gathered in Houston recently to complete signing formalities signaling the start of front-end engineering for a new export refinery in Yanbu'. The project is one of two new facilities that will substantially increase the Kingdom's supply of petroleum products to the international market. Dawood M. Al-Dawood, president and CEO of Aramco Services Co., officiated on behalf of Saudi Aramco at the triple-signing occasion with joint venture partner ConocoPhillips and contractor KBR. Attending the ceremony were officials from the three companies, including the Saudi Aramco project management team to be based in Houston. The Yanbu' Export Refinery, scheduled for completion in 2011, will be designed to process 400,000 barrels per day of Arabian heavy crude oil. It will produce motor fuels and other refined products for U.S. and European markets. Its twin-sister plant in Jubail, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Total, will primarily serve the Far East market. The combined output from the two new refineries will help meet increasing demand from the world's largest consuming countries and use Saudi Arabia's production from on- and offshore fields. They also will help alleviate the shortage of refining capacity worldwide, particularly of heavy-grade crude oils. Both refineries will be sited near existing Saudi Aramco facilities. Mohammad Sulaiman A. Al-Subhi will head the initial 15-member Yanbu' project management team in Houston while Abdulhamid Abdullah N. Al-Hatlani will serve as business manager. Aramco Services Co. will provide project liaison, engineering, logistics and administrative support to the team throughout the project, according to a report of Saudi Aramco.
