Saudi Arabia has announced more than $2bn worth of new petrochemical investment deals, which include a new polyacrylamide plant and an ammonia project in Jubail.The deals were signed in Riyadh between the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) and five chemical majors, namely, German BASF, Anglo-Dutch Shell, Japanese Mitsui & Co, French SNF and Dutch Advanced Metallurgical Group. SAGIA and Mitsui & Co signed a $1bn deal to evaluate the establishment of an ammonia plant in Jubail with an estimated production capacity of 1m tonnes/year.The two sides also agreed to jointly develop a specialty chemicals downstream opportunity, according to a post on Twitter by SAGIA. Shell signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SAGIA to study the potential for building residue upgrading catalyst manufacturing facility in Jubail, the Anglo-Dutch energy giant said in a separate statement on 21 November.
