Saudi companies are prepared to invest billions in petrochemicals production in Texas, taking advantage of the abundance of cheap natural gas in the Permian and elsewhere in the shale patch, the Houston Chronicle reports. Aramco, for one, is planning to spend between US$8 and 10 billion on two contracts with oil equipment manufacturers TechnipFMC and Honeywell UPO that may lead to the construction of an Aramco oil equipment manufacturing complex in Texas, Crown Prince Mohammed said during his visit to Houston, which marked the end of his two-week trip across the States. In its contract with TechnipFMC, Aramco will focus on mixed-feed ethylene production technology, following market trends that suggest plastics and petrochemicals demand will drive oil demand in the future. Ethylene is a key ingredient in the production of an extensive range of plastics. With Honeywell UPO, Aramco will study the production of benzene—an industrial chemical used in […]