Hydrocarbon Processing - June 2022 - 57

History of the HPI
strengthen the plastic by creating a mold
that had nylon thread running in a diamond
crisscross pattern. When the mold
was pressed, the molecules aligned in a
biaxial fashion.169
This created a light,
clear and resilient product that could
withstand the pressure of carbonated liquids.
On May 15, 1973, Wyeth received a
U.S. patent for his biaxially-oriented PET
bottle machine (FIG. 4).
Although PET plastic bottles were
more expensive than glass when first
introduced into the market, they had
many more benefits, such as they were
lighter, they were not easily breakable
and they could be resealed. Eventually,
due to increased manufacturing, the cost
for PET plastic bottles decreased significantly.171
pany
significantly expanded the system's
total capacity, with the ability to produce
approximately 12.5 Bft3
d of natural gas
by the early 2020s.
Jubail Industrial City. Jubail's origins
date back more than 7,000 yr and garnered
fame in 1933 as the initial landing
spot for Standard Oil of California (now
Chevron) geologists in their search for oil
in the country.176
In the mid-1970s, Jubail was little
more than a fishing village; however, it
had several benefits for the country. The
city's location was ideal for shipping, it
had ample water supplies to cool industrial
plants and it was near crucial domestic
oil production fields.177
The scope of the megaproject was to
Companies like Coca-Cola and
Pepsi brought PET plastic bottles to the
global masses, and PET plastic bottle
usage has soared globally over the past
several decades. In 2021, more than 580
B PET plastic bottles were produced (an
increase of nearly 100 B/yr since 2016),
reaching a total market value of nearly
$40 B-industry reports forecast the
PET plastic bottle market reaching more
than $50 B by 2027.172,173
Infrastructure rises from the Saudi
desert: Jubail, Yanbu and the master
gas system. In 1975, Saudi Arabia's
government commissioned the construction
of two new industrial cities, one on
each of its coasts-Jubail in the east and
Yanbu in the west. These cities were the
results of the country's growing wealth
from oil production and global trade and
would serve as major industrial complexes
to produce refined fuels and petrochemical
products to satisfy domestic
demand and for export.
Around the same timeframe, Aramco-the
company would not adopt
the name Saudi Aramco until the late
1980s-began work on the country's
master gas system.174
The system's goal
was to gather and utilize associated natural
gas that was being flared (wasted)
from domestic production and use it as a
low-cost fuel for industrialization.175
This
capital-intensive project included the
construction and operation of gas gathering
infrastructure, treating and processing
facilities, and a transmitting system.
By the mid-1980s, the master gas system
was able to produce up to 2 Bft3
ral gas.175
d of natuOver
the next 40 yr, the comconvert
Jubail into a large-scale industrial
city. The Saudi government selected two
agencies to oversee the city's construction:
The General Petroleum and Mineral
Organization (PETROMIN) and the
Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC).
The project developers selected American-based
engineering, construction and
project management firm Bechtel to design
and build the industrial city. Jubail
Industrial City was an effort by the Saudi
government to reach self-sufficiency in
refined and petrochemical products.
The city, which covers more than
, includes a multitude of in1,000
km2
dustrial infrastructure, including the
440,000-bpd SATORP refinery (a JV between
Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies)
and the SADARA petrochemical complex
(a JV between Saudi Aramco and the
Dow Chemical Co.).
Yanbu. On the country's west coast,
the Saudi government decreed the construction
of a second industrial city in
Yanbu. The city's origins date back more
than 2,500 yr when it was used as a staging
point on the spice and incense route
from Yemen to Egypt and various countries
around the Mediterranean.178
This
sister industrial city to Jubail would be
smaller, but due to its proximity on the
Red Sea, would be crucial as an import/
export port for the country. Over the next
several decades, additional hydrocarbon
processing facilities would be built, including
refineries, petrochemical plants
and other supporting infrastructure (e.g.,
pipelines, storage).
Today, Jubail and Yanbu are the firstand
fourth-largest industrial cities, respectively,
in the world.179
150
151
136
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Complete
literature cited available online at
www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Hydrocarbon Processing | JUNE 2022 57

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