The local Farabi Petrochemicals Company is to move its planned $1bn petrochemicals plant from the Jizan Economic City (JEC) to Yanbu after securing a land allocation at the Red Sea industrial hub.

MEED reported in October 2013 that Farabi had awarded the US’ Foster Wheeler a study and technology selection contract for the project and this should now have been completed. Then initial plan was for the plant to be built adjacent to state-owned Saudi Aramco’s $7bn Jizan refinery, which is under construction.

“[Farabi] has the land and is now in discussions for a feedstock allocation,” says a petrochemicals source. “It is unclear why they have decided against Jizan, but it now looks like they are committed to Yanbu.”

The scope of work includes developing an overall concept for the scheme, which will produce linear alkyl benzenes from diesel feedstock. About 24 grades of surfactant allied business chemicals, including detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents and dispersants are planned to be manufactured.

The study also included Foster Wheeler selecting the technology for the production of low aromatics solvent and the treatment of heavy fuel oil. The company also formulated a cost estimate and the tender for the front-end engineering and design (feed) contract. Sources in the kingdom now expect a feed tender to be issued in the first half of 2015.

There are several options for feedstock in Yanbu, including two 400,000 barrel-a-day (b/d) refineries owned in joint ventures by Aramco. These are the Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Company, which Aramco operates with the US’ ExxonMobil, and the Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company, which is just about to start commissioning and is operated with the China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec).

Farabi already operates a large-scale plant producing linear alkyl benzenes at Jubail in the Eastern Province of the kingdom. The company was unavailable for comment when contacted by MEED.