A new refinery in Saudi Arabia, that is JV of Saudi Aramco and France's Total is likely to start diesel exports from the Q2 of next year and is targeting the European market.

Industry sources said that both companies have started testing the 400,000 barrels per day refinery at Jubail and have indicated to potential buyers that diesel exports are likely to start by the Q2 next year.

Sources have said that Saudi Aramco Total Refinery and Petrochemicals Company has fired up the boilers at the plant, designed to reduce Saudi reliance on imports and meet rapidly rising fuel demand. This indicates the refinery is expected to be fully operational ahead of an earlier schedule of December next year.

Aramco and Total will jointly market the diesel, though volumes are not clear yet. There's no clear picture yet, but marketing from both sides will own a share of volumes. The Jubail refinery will be the second in the Middle East to target the European market with regular diesel exports.

Source - Trade Arabia

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