Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia, and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS), the national oil company of Malaysia, today joyfully announced the formation of two joint ventures for the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project. The strategic alliance is a historic partnership between two of the largest and most successful national oil companies in the world, bringing together the resources, technologies, experience as well as expertise of two giant oil coglomerates with established commercial presence around the world. These Joint Ventures allow the parties equal ownership and participation in the operations of the new refinery and selected petrochemical facility, which is part of the Refinery and Petrochemicals Development (RAPID) project within Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) in Malaysia's southern state of Johor. Through this collaboration, Saudi Aramco will supplys 50 percent of the refinery's crude feedstock requirements with the option of increasing it to 70 percent. Meanwhile natural gas, power and other utilities will be supplied by PETRONAS and its affiliates. The Parties will share the right to offtake the production of the joint ventures on an equal basis. The refinery, which has a capacity of 300,000 barrels of crude per day, will produce a range of refined petroleum products, including gasoline and diesel, meeting Euro 5 fuel specifications. It will also provides feedstock for the integrated petrochemical complex, which is capable of producing 3.3 million tonnes per annum of petrochemical products. With 87 per cent currently completed, the RAPID project is on track for refinery start-up in the first quarter of 2019. --More 19:22 LOCAL TIME 16:22 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/1745477
