Saudi Aramco’s Motiva US refining subsidiary is expanding its Port Arthur Hub on the Texas Gulf coast. It has signed an agreement to buy a mixed feed cracker from US firm Flint Hills Resources, which lies alongside its Port Arthur refinery. Motiva aims to close the deal in Q4 as it looks to boost its US presence and capitalize on cheap US shale gas.

The Motiva refinery has crude distillation capacity of 635,000 b/d and Aramco plans to integrate a $6.6bn petchems complex with it. This will comprise a “world-scale” mixed feed steam cracker producing ethylene, and an aromatics plant producing benzene and paraxylene. Aramco is aiming for late 2022 start-up (MEES, 4 January). (CONTINUED - 318 WORDS)