Aramco Trading, Red Sea Petrochemicals sign crude oil supply agreement

Aramco Trading Co. (ATC) signed, on Feb. 15, an agreement with Egypt’s Red Sea National Petrochemicals Co. (Red Sea Co.) for a long-term crude oil supply for its planned refinery complex with a provision for offtake of refined and petrochemical products.

Under the agreement, ATC will supply 100,000 barrels per day of Arabian Crude into its Refining and Petrochemical complex, which is expected to be built at the Suez Canal Economic Zone in Ain Sokhna.

The agreement will pave the way for Aramco Trading to buy products from Red Sea, which include polymers, olefins, and liquid refined and petrochemical products. 

Red Sea was established to meet the needs of the local market for refined and petrochemical products in addition to creating export opportunities for these products.

The planned petrochemical refinery is expected to have a liquid-to-chemical conversion rate of around 60-70%, which is the main pillar in Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resource national transformation program.

Mohammed Al Qahtani, ATC Chairman, said: “We are pleased to sign this agreement with Red Sea National Petrochemicals Company, a valued Oil & Gas partner. This is in line with Saudi Aramco’s strategy to maximize liquid-to-chemical conversion.”

“We are committed to supporting the continued development of oil and gas resources in Egypt, a country which is capable of delivering technologically advanced projects of significant scale to meet the growing energy demands of the nation and the region,” Al Qahtani added.