Transforming Petroleum

TRANSFORMING PETROLEUM The “holy grail” of crude oil-to-chemicals

JORGE GASCON Director of the KAUST Catalysis Center and Professor of Chemical Engineering

GIVEN THE INCREASING DEMAND FOR CHEMICALS AND PROJECTED DECREASE IN DEMAND FOR PETROCHEMICALS IN THE COMING DECADES, WE NEED TO RETHINK THE WAY OIL IS BEING REFINED AND TRANSFORMED. AT KAUST, WE ARE DEVELOPING NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO DEVELOP THE OIL-TO-CHEMICALS PROCESS WITH THE AIM OF CREATING PETROCHEMICALS FROM CRUDE IN A SINGLE STEP.

KAUST and Saudi Aramco are working together to create a new future for oil – one without combustion. These efforts are being led by KAUST’s Catalysis Center and the Saudi Aramco Research Center at KAUST. Launched in 2016, Aramco’s activities at KAUST aim to develop innovative and original research to accelerate the successful delivery of technologies for the future of the energy industry in Saudi Arabia. The center supports Aramco’s research in the areas of chemicals, intelligent systems, solar energy, reservoir engineering, computational modeling and environmental protection.

Since 2014, KAUST’s Catalysis Center has been working with Aramco to convert greater amounts of crude oil into valuable chemicals – polymers including polyethylene and polypropylene that are used for all sorts of everyday products such as clothing, windows, wiring insulation and chairs. This flagship technology initiative – known as crude oil-to-chemicals (C2C) – is a major strategic priority for Aramco as it seeks to become a preeminent chemicals producer.

Of all the research tracks in Aramco’s C2C program, the most ambitious is being conducted in conjunction with KAUST. The collaboration aims to achieve a catalytic process that can convert crude oil into chemicals in a single step. This is considered to be the holy grail of C2C research. The method requires a multi-functional catalyst that is able to crack, dehydrogenate, dearomatize and remove sulfur.

SAUDI ARAMCO

“Unlocking the greater potential value inherent in hydrocarbons resources lies at the heart of Aramco’s chemicals strategy. Our journey to realize the ambitious target of 70-80% of each barrel of crude oil being converted to chemicals by 2030 is being supported by KAUST.”

Dr. Xu Wei, Senior Research Science Consultant at Saudi Aramco

This process has the potential to reshape the global petrochemicals industry, and secure long-term demand for Saudi oil while reducing the carbon footprint associated with its use. By diverting more oil from being used in combustion and increasing the share of each barrel of crude oil that is converted to chemicals, the technology can help Saudi Arabia proactively address climate change and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions – all while continuing to be one of the world’s most important producers of oil.

Together, Aramco and KAUST have already developed a new C2C process, having filed patents for new reactor concepts and catalyst formations. The ultimate goal is to accelerate the technology toward commercialization. The next stage of the collaboration is the construction of a new laboratory pilot plant at KAUST to demonstrate the technology at scale.