Saudi Aramco (Dhahran / Saudi Arabia; www.saudiaramco.com) has agreed to take an equity stake in the long-running “Rapid” project of Petronas (Kuala Lumpur / Malaysia; www.petronas.com) despite its spectacular withdrawal weeks earlier, which observers believe may have been a tactical move. According to the plans sealed during the recent state visit of Saudi king Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to Malaysia, the Saudi company will invest USD 7 bn in the project taking shape at the Pengerang Integrated Complex in the southern Malaysian state of Johor.

The investment is earmarked for a new refinery in Johor due to go on stream in 2020, producing 300,000 bbl of crude oil per day to supply the petroleum markets of ASEAN as well as feedstock for Rapid’s integrated petrochemical complex. Downstream of the refinery, Plasteurope.com’s Polyglobe database (www.polyglobe.net) shows that the project’s 1.3m t/y mixed feed cracker will be able to produce around 1.25m t/y of PE as well as 900,000 t/y of PP – see Plasteurope.com of 08.12.2016.