Saudi Aramco confirms Novomer polyol purchase

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia — Petrochemcial giant, Saudi Aramco, has paid up to $100m for Novomer's Converge carbon-dioxide-to-polyols technology, Saudi Aramco confirmed in a release.

Saudi Aramco plans to make and sell Converge polyols and associated products through its subsidary Aramco Performance Materials. Saudi Aramco said it is planning for full-scale production facilities in Saudi Arabia to make specialty and intermediate chemical products for many industries.

The news that Saudi Aramco was to buy Novomer's CO₂ to polyols business, was reported first on UTECH-polyuretane.com on 2 November 2016, and comes just under two years since Saudi Aramco took a stake in Novomer in 2013.

Saudi Aramco has been investing in CO₂ capture and storage products for several years and has a facility in the Uthmaniyah field and Hawaiyah facilities 770 km (480 miles) southwest of Riyadh, near Jeddah.

Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco ceo said: "There is compelling industrial logic to the Converge polyol technology deal as it enables the conversion of waste CO₂ into cleaner, high-value products with significant performance, cost and CO₂ footprint improvements."

The purchase also enables Saudi Arabia to develop new technological growth areas away from oil and gas, he added.

Abdulaziz Al-Judaimi, acting senior vice president of downstream, Saudi Aramco said: "By providing access to reliable feed stock supplies, financial stability, R&D investment and focus, Saudi Aramco will accelerate the commercialisation of these new exciting polymeric materials."