In a transfer meant to speed up Saudi Arabia’s management in downstream innovation, Aramco, Honeywell (Nasdaq: HON), and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) to co-develop a next-generation direct Crude-to-Chemicals (CTC) know-how.
The collaboration will focus on creating and scaling up the complete CTC course of. This initiative goals to considerably cut back each capital and working prices related to CTC conversion.
The new CTC pathway is designed to extract important worth from every barrel of crude oil by changing it immediately into gentle olefins and different high-demand chemical substances. The modern CTC course of idea is predicted to enhance gas effectivity, carbon utilization, and course of economics—permitting for extra environment friendly and cost-effective manufacturing at scale.
The collaboration helps Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 by serving to to advance financial diversification, construct nationwide analysis and know-how capabilities, and strengthen the Kingdom’s place throughout the petrochemicals business. It represents a strategic alignment amongst industrial know-how, educational excellence, and market ambition — delivering a platform for high-impact innovation.
Dr. Ali A. Al-Meshari, Aramco Senior Vice President of Technology Oversight & Coordination, mentioned: “This collaboration with Honeywell UOP and KAUST furthers Aramco’s efforts to drive innovation and shape the future of petrochemicals. By harnessing the power of cutting-edge technologies, we aim to enhance energy efficiency and unlock increased value from every barrel of crude. This novel Crude[1]to-Chemicals process is aligned with our vision of supporting the global transition towards cleaner, high-performance chemical production. Moreover, this initiative demonstrates our focus on contributing to the growth of a vibrant ecosystem, where the deployment of innovative technologies can create lasting value for our stakeholders, our communities, and the environment.”
Rajesh Gattupalli, Honeywell UOP President, mentioned: “This agreement marks a defining moment in our strategic collaboration with Aramco and KAUST – and in the global evolution of Crude-to-Chemicals technology. With Honeywell UOP’s deep expertise in catalytic process design and commercial scale[1]up, we’re well positioned to drive this innovation forward. The outcome is expected to enhance energy efficiency, reduce emissions, and enable the Kingdom to unlock greater value from its resources while solidifying its competitive edge in the global chemicals market.”
KAUST’s involvement brings modern scientific experience into the center of commercial improvement, making certain that analysis, design, and innovation transfer in lockstep. The collaboration underscores the worth of integrating utilized analysis with market-driven aims to speed up know-how readiness and nationwide functionality.
Dr. Ian Campbell, Senior Vice President, National Transformation Institute (NTI), commented: “At KAUST, we believe that impactful science must translate into industrial solutions. This collaboration brings our research expertise together with the world-class engineering and R&D capabilities of Honeywell UOP and Aramco to address a major opportunity in the petrochemicals industry. It is a model for how academia and industry can jointly accelerate technology development in support of Saudi Arabia’s innovation-driven economy.”