Saudi Aramco Technologies (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco), CB&I, and Chevron Lummus Global (CLG) (a joint venture between CB&I and Chevron U.S.A., Inc.) have signed a three-party Joint Development Agreement (JDA). It will serve to scale up and commercialize a technology to directly convert crude oil to chemicals. The Saudi Aramco’s Thermal Crude to Chemicals (TC2C™) technology has been developed at the company’s Research & Development Center to increase chemicals yield and to bypasses conventional refining steps. Commercialization is scheduled for 2020.

According to Saudi Aramco’s President and CEO Amin H. Nasser, the company is “going beyond the quick wins and is instead prioritizing investments in groundbreaking R&D and technology”. Under the $40 million agreement, 70 to 80 % of the crude intake should be converted into chemicals.

• Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
• CB&I (Chicago Bridge & Iron Company), The Hague, The Netherlands
• Chevron Lummus Global (CLG), Bloomfield, NJ, USA
• Chevron U.S.A., Inc., San Ramon, CA, USA