Saudi decree encourages MTBE, Chevron aromatics plant
Chevron Chemical (Houston), encouraged by a new Saudi royal decree that establishes extremely low feedstock prices, is in final negotiations to build a novel aromatics plant in Saudi Arabia. Chevron says it plans to close the deal and announce details the first week of March. The unit will be based on Chevron's Aromax reforming process, which uses a zeolite catalyst to convert light naphtha into benzene and toluene. No existing plant is using the technology, but Chevron is building a $250-million, 150-million gal/year Aromax unit at its refinery site in Pascagoula, MS, and Idemitsu has licensed the process for a plant in Chiba, Japan. The Saudi decree, issued late last year, pegs domestic feedstocks - propane, butane, and naphthas - at 30% below the lowest price of the prior quarter in major non-domestic markets. That clarifies and guarantees the Saudi feedstock price, which has always been nebulous, and thus allows project feasibility to be more clearly assessed. The decree is designed to encourage further private petrochemical investment in the country. In particular, the Saudi government hopes guaranteed low prices for butane will encourage more methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) projects. Arabian American Chemical, a 50/50 joint venture between Mobile and Arabian Chemical Investments, said in October of last year that its 830,000-m.t./year MTBE project at Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, would go ahead if feedstock questions could be resolved. The decree apparently resolves those questions.
- OSTI ID:
- 6639212
- Journal Information:
- Chemical Week; (United States), Vol. 152:7; ISSN 0009-272X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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TOLUENE
AROMATICS
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CAPACITY
CATALYSTS
ETHERS
INVESTMENT
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PETROCHEMICAL PLANTS
PRICES
PROPANE
SAUDI ARABIA
USES
ZEOLITES
ALKANES
ALKYLATED AROMATICS
ASIA
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DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
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HYDROCARBONS
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INORGANIC ION EXCHANGERS
ION EXCHANGE MATERIALS
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