PETRORabigh, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical signed financing agreements with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) and 17 financial institutions in respect of facilities totaling US$5.8 billion. The facilities have been raised for the Rabigh Refinery and Petrochemical Project to be developed on the western coast of Saudi Arabia.
The project entails the development of an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex at the site of the existing Rabigh refinery at an approximate capital cost of US$9.8 billion. The project will benefit from economies of scale and a stable supply of cost competitive feedstocks to be provided by Saudi Aramco. These combined advantages promise to make the Rabigh complex one of the most highly competitive refining and petrochemical operations in the industry.
On completion of the project, the Rabigh complex will be one of the world's largest export-oriented refinery and petrochemical complexes. The Rabigh complex will produce 18.4 million tons per annum of high value petroleum products and 2.4 million tons per annum of ethylene- and propylene-based petrochemical derivatives.
This enormous complex will not only be a pioneering venture in its own right, but will also be complementary to the development of a new economic city currently being planned by the government of Saudi Arabia.
This will provide the scope for PETRORabigh to contribute significantly to the growth of employment opportunities and economic diversification within the Kingdom, and will also serve to help strengthen relations between Saudi Arabia and Japan. The PETRORabigh financing represents a landmark financing. The prominent role of JBIC and PIF demonstrates the importance that both the governments of Japan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia attach to the project.
