Optimism runs high for Satorp refinery in Saudi Arabia
Total lauds the economic strengths of its new Saudi Arabian complex while troubles in Europe mount
The new Total (37.5%) and Saudi Aramco (62.5%) refinery at Jubail reached its full capacity of 400,000 barrels a day (b/d) in August, after a marathon 11-month commissioning programme. Total says the $12 billion investment by the venture, Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company (Satorp), will benefit from strong economics - and it expects the refinery still to be operating in another 40-50 years. Total’s former president of refining and chemicals, now chief executive, Patrick Pouyanné, says: “Our job is to find the cheapest crude to make the best product.” Jubail will run on just one type of crude, permanently - Arabian Heavy, produced from the Safaniya and Manifa fields to th
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
