King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) and Japan Cooperation Center, Petroleum (JCCP) signed a new contract to support catalytic research in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Dr. Sahel N. Abduljauwad, KFUPM vice-rector for Applied Research, and Katsuo Yokoyama, JCCP managing director, signed the agreement in the presence of Hiroshi Oka, minister of the Japanese embassy in Saudi Arabia. The accord marks the continuation of the productive collaboration between KFUPM and JCCP since 1993. The new project calls for exchange of technical know-how between KFUPM and Nippon Oil Research Institute (NORI) in FCC catalyst development and evaluation. The Center for Refining & Petrochemicals (CRP) at KFUPM Research Institute has accumulated more than 15 years of technical collaboration with JCCP mainly in petroleum refining research. “We believe the project will contribute to the oil industry in Saudi Arabia,” Yokoyama said, adding that “in the final stage of the project, we believe KFUPM researchers, in collaboration with Japanese researchers, will develop new high performance FCC catalysts to improve productivity of the refineries in Saudi Arabia. Our ultimate aim is to build the concrete reliable relationship between Saudi Arabia and Japan through the project. JCCP will continue to work earnestly toward this goal.” Abduljauwad said the new research project “will foster collaborative research ties with Japan and enhance our mission in establishing a research capability at KFUPM. Combining Japanese expertise in refining and KFUPM scientists, will help us reach these goals more quickly. I'm sure that results of this project will be beneficial to the petroleum refining industry in Saudi Arabia and Japan.” Dr. Sulaiman Al-Khattaf, director of CRP, said the collaboration projects with Japan included the following: q Development and commercialization of FCC refining technology with partnership between KFUPM. JCCP, Nippon Oil and Saudi Aramco. The new process converts heavy petroleum fractions to gasoline and petrochemical feedstocks. q Development of high performance catalyst for heavy oil upgrading. q Enhancement of aromatics production, mainly paraxylene from heavy aromatics. Under the accord, the university will acquire enhanced capability for the evaluation of FCC catalysts using Advanced Cracking Evaluation (ACE) unit to improve yield and quality of products.
