The plant, part of the Amiral petrochemical complex, will make Saudi Arabia JXTB’s third global production site after Japan and the US

JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation has announced a feasibility study for a new ethylidene norbornene (ENB) plant to be built in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, as part of the Amiral petrochemical complex, a Saudi Aramco and Total joint venture.

JXTG Group is the world’s leading ENB producer with one production line in Japan and two production lines in the US. The new plant will make Saudi Arabia a third production site. The proposed capacity of the new ENB plant is 23,000 tonnes per year and it is expected to start commercial operation in the late 2020s.

Its location meanwhile in Saudi Arabia, downstream of the world scale mixed feed cracker of the Amiral complex, will ensure the future ENB plant of the reliable supply of raw materials and energy.

Announced in October 2018, Amiral petrochemical complex will be integrated downstream of the Satorp refinery. The joint venture is 62.5 per cent owned by Saudi Aramco and the rest by Total. It will comprise a world-scale mixed-feed cracker – the first in the Gulf region to be integrated with a refinery – with a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year of ethylene and related high-added-value petrochemical units.

With ENB demand expected to be firm and increasing in the mid and long term, this project will contribute to the stable ENB supply chain of the JXTG Group, not only to existing customers, but also to future customers around the world.

ENB is an important component in the manufacture of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), an advanced heat and weather resistant synthetic rubber used primarily in the automotive and construction industries. Demand for ENB has been increasing strongly alongside the growth in the automotive production sector.

JXTG provides stable ENB supply for their worldwide customers through independent production locations and its network of terminals in the US, Europe, and Asia.

JXTG Group has developed the ENB business since 1979 and has grown its production to an overall capacity of 68,000 tons per year in April 2020.

In its long-term vision and medium-term management plan, the JXTG Group has set a goal of advancing into the high value-added derivatives business and expanding it globally. By providing a stable supply of products in these businesses, JXTG aims to become one of the most prominent and internationally-competitive energy and materials company groups in Asia.