沙特阿美宣布其在韩国有史以来最大一笔投资

据油气新闻网11月17日报道，沙特阿美(Aramco)正在韩国进行有史以来最大的一笔投资，通过旗下子公司S-OIL开发全球最大的炼油一体化石化蒸汽裂解设备之一，这符合该公司将原油到化学品价值链最大化的战略。

耗资70亿美元的Shaheen项目，旨在将原油转化为石化原料，这将是沙特阿美和Lummus Technology公司的TC2C热原油转化为化学品技术的首次商业化，该技术可提高化学品产量并降低运营成本。

此前，该石化扩建项目的第一阶段投资40亿美元，于2018年完成。

位于S-OIL的蔚山现有工厂的新工厂，计划每年生产320万吨石化产品，并包括一个生产高价值聚合物的设施。该项目预计于2023年开工，2026年完工。

蒸汽裂解装置将加工原油加工的副产物，包括石脑油和废气，以生产乙烯——一种用于制造数千种日常用品的基础石化产品。该工厂还有望生产丙烯、丁二烯和其他基本化学品。

阿美石油公司总裁兼首席执行官Amin H Nasser表示，受亚洲新兴经济体消费增长的推动，全球石化行业的格局正在迅速变化，需求增长预计将加速。这就是为什么S-Oil的Shaheen能够满足该地区关键行业对所需材料不断增长的需求。通过阿美石油公司的热原油转化为化学品技术的首次商业化，进一步整合炼油和化学工艺，我们的目标是创造一个更高效、更有竞争力和可持续的增长平台，同时为进一步的下游扩张铺平道路。

沙特阿美下游高级副总裁Mohammed Y Al Qahtani表示，Shaheen希望不仅成为韩国S-OIL公司的改变者，也希望成为全球化学品业务的改变者，能够以更高效、更低能源密集型的方式加工更多种类的原料。该项目是沙特阿美热原油化工技术的首次大规模部署，并展示了通过更好的设计，如何能够为向更高效、更可持续的生产流程过渡作出贡献。

新的蒸汽裂解装置计划使用混合原料，在整体效率和性能方面优于石脑油裂解装置。项目一旦完成后，S-OIL的化学品产量（基于产量）可能会翻番，达到25%，这表明了这项尖端技术的影响，补充了阿美石油公司将其液体化学品产能提高至每天400万桶的战略。

沙特阿美是S-OIL的大股东，通过其子公司沙特阿美海外公司(Aramco Overseas company BV)持有63%以上的股份。

郝芬 译自 油气新闻网

原文如下：

Aramco announces its biggest investment in South Korea

Aramco is making its biggest ever investment in South Korea to develop one of the world’s largest refinery-integrated petrochemical steam crackers through its S-OIL affiliate, in line with the company’s strategy to maximise the crude to chemicals value chain.

The $7 billion Shaheen project aims to convert crude oil into petrochemical feedstock and would represent the first commercialisation of Aramco and Lummus Technology’s TC2C thermal crude to chemicals technology, which increases chemical yield and reduces operating costs.

It follows an earlier $4 billion investment into the first phase of the petrochemical expansion completed in 2018.

Located at S-Oil’s existing site in Ulsan, the new plant is planned to have the capacity to produce up to 3.2 million tons of petrochemicals annually and include a facility to produce high-value polymers. The project is expected to start in 2023 and be completed by 2026.

The steam cracker is expected to process by-products from crude processing, including naphtha and off-gas, to produce ethylene — a building block petrochemical used to make thousands of everyday items. The plant is also expected to produce propylene, butadiene and other basic chemicals.

Aramco President & CEO Amin H Nasser said: “The global petrochemical landscape is rapidly evolving with demand growth anticipated to accelerate, driven in part by rising consumption from Asia’s emerging economies. That is why S-Oil’s Shaheen is well positioned to meet rising demand for the materials that will be required across the region’s key industries. By further integrating refining and chemical processes through the first commercialization of Aramco’s thermal crude to chemicals technology, we aim to create a more efficient, competitive and sustainable platform for growth, while paving the way for further downstream expansion.”

Aramco Senior Vice President of Downstream Mohammed Y Al Qahtani said: “Shaheen aspires to be a gamechanger not only for S-OIL in South Korea, but also for our global chemicals business, allowing us to process a greater range of feedstocks in a more efficient and less energy-intensive way. The project represents the first large-scale deployment of Aramco’s thermal crude to chemicals technology and shows how, through better design, we can contribute to the transition to more efficient and more sustainable production processes.” 

The new steam cracker is planned to use mixed feedstocks, outperforming naphtha-based crackers in terms of overall efficiency and performance. Upon project completion, S-OIL chemical yield based on volume could almost double to 25%, which demonstrates the impact of this cutting-edge technology, complementing Aramco’s strategy to expand its liquids to chemicals capacity to up to 4 million barrels per day.

Aramco is the majority shareholder of S-OIL, holding more than 63% of the company’s shares through its Aramco Overseas Company BV subsidiary.