Aramco expects plant expansion in Yanbu to cost $1bn

Saudi Aramco Lubricating Oil Refining Co (Luberef) expects the cost of expanding its Yanbu refinery to be nearly $1bn, Reuters has reported, citing comments by Salih Thani, the firm's supervisor of contracts and insurance. The expansion of the refinery, which has a current capacity of 280,000 tonnes per year of oil lubricants, would produce a new type of base oil, which Thani said is new to the region. 'There are no refineries in the Gulf region that produce this lubricant and there is very good demand for it in the Gulf and we could even export to Europe, India and Far East countries," he told the news service.