Saudi Aramco, through its subsidiary Saudi Aramco Technologies, signed a Joint Development and Collaboration Agreement (JDCA) with Axens and TechnipFMC to develop the company’s Catalytic Crude to Chemicals (CC2C™) technology, Saudi Aramco announced on January 29.

The technology has the ability to convert more than 60% of a crude oil barrel into chemicals to create high-value product streams that produce larger quantities of chemicals while generating less emissions.

“This is another milestone in the company’s effort to develop groundbreaking technology that maximizes the value of each barrel of crude oil,” said Amin H. Nasser, Saudi Aramco CEO.

“According to the IEA, an additional 4 M b/d of crude oil will have to be converted into petrochemicals by 2035 to meet the demand.” Jean Sentenac, Axens’s Chairman and CEO, said.

The agreement aims at achieving commercial readiness for the technology by 2021.