Continental Focus, International Reach

Saudi Plans South African Petchem Project

Sunday, January 20, 2019

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih and his South African counterpart Jeff Radebe revealed that the Saudi kingdom will build an oil refinery and a petrochemical plant in the African country. The project is part of Saudi Arabia’s $10 billion global investment project.

The two ministers held bilateral talks in Pretoria to discuss details of the $10 billion investment announced in July 2018. They also discussed the possibility of Saudi Aramco, the Saudi state-owned oil company, using South African oil tanks in Saldanha to store crude oil.

No details on the plant’s capacity were disclosed, but both sides plan to start feasibility studies for these short-term projects.

According to South Africa’s Ministry of Energy, Saudi Arabia’s importance as a trading partner can not be overstated since it supplies 40% of the crude oil processed in South Africa.


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