Saudi Aramco, Air Products, ACWA To Form $8 Bln JV In Saudi Arabia

(RTTNews) - Saudi Aramco, Air Products (APD), and ACWA Power said that they signed a Term Sheet to form an over $8 billion Gasification/Power joint venture located at Jazan Economic City or JEC in Saudi Arabia.

The JV will purchase the gasification assets, power block and the associated utilities from Saudi Aramco for over $8 billion. These assets are currently under construction and will be transferred to the JV upon successful start-up, currently scheduled in 2019.

The JV will own and operate the facility under a 25-year contract for a fixed monthly fee. Saudi Aramco will supply feedstock to the JV, and the JV will produce power, hydrogen and other utilities for Saudi Aramco.

Air Products will own at least 55 percent of the JV, with Saudi Aramco and ACWA Power owning the balance. The JV builds upon the importance and recognition that critical infrastructure assets in the region are being developed and operated under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

The consortium will increase job opportunities, transfer the most advanced technologies in this field to the Kingdom, and enable Saudi talent to employ this technology for the first time.

The JV will serve Saudi Aramco's Jazan Refinery and terminal at JEC, a megaproject that will process heavy and medium crude oil to create liquefied petroleum gas, sulfur, asphalt, benzene and paraxylene, and add 400,000 barrels per day of refining capacity.