Dubai (Platts)--5Feb2013/601 pm EST/2301 GMT

New paraxylene capacity of 2.6 million mt/year and benzene capacity of 820,000 mt/year will be built in Saudi Arabia over the next four years by Saudi Aramco, a source close to the state company said Tuesday.

These aromatics capacities will be at five refinery complexes in the country, the source added. Saudi Aramco is involved in all these projects either as a partner or as the sole owner.

The 400,000 b/d Saudi Aramco Total Refinery and Petrochemical Co., or Satorp, refinery complex at Jubail, scheduled to start operations in the third quarter, will have a PX capacity of 700,000 mt/year and benzene capacity of 140,000 mt/year, the source said. While Aramco holds a 62.5% stake in Satorp, France's Total holds 37.5%.

"Saudi Aramco is already in talks with prospective buyers of cargoes from the Satorp plant," the source said.

A 700,000 mt/year PX and a 140,000 mt/year benzene plant are part of 400,000 b/d refinery complex being built by Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Co., or Yasref, at Yanbu, according to the source. The refinery complex, currently under construction, is scheduled for a startup in 2014. While Saudi Aramco has a 62.5% stake in Yasref, China's Sinopec holds the remaining 37.5%.

At end-2015, Petro Rabigh's upcoming second phase petrochemicals complex will start production at its 1.35 million mt/year PX and 170,000 mt/year benzene plants, the source said. Petro Rabigh Phase II will include a new ethane-based steam cracker using 30,000 Mcf/d of ethane and 3 million mt/year of naphtha for feedstock, he said. Further downstream, the complex will include plants for the production of ethylene-propylene rubber, thermoplastic olefins, methyl methacrylate monomer, polymethyl methacrylate, caprolactam, polyols, cumene, phenol/acetone, acrylic acid, SAP and nylon-6, as well as low density polyethylene/ethylene vinyl acetate, the source said.

Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo each own a 37.5% stake in Petro Rabigh. The rest of shares are listed on Saudi stock exchange Tadawul.

Another 1.2 million mt/year PX and 285,000 mt/year benzene capacity will come up in end-2016 at Saudi Aramco's 525,000 b/d refinery complex at Ras Tanura in east coast of Saudi Arabia, the source said. Saudi Aramco's 400,000 b/d refinery complex at Jazan in southwest coast of Saudi Arabia which is scheduled to start production in early 2017, will have a 650,000 mt/year PX and 85,000 mt/year benzene capacity, he said.

--Shashank Shekhar, shashank_shekhar@platts.com --Edited by Richard Rubin, richard_rubin@platts.com