SABIC partners with Italy’s Eni on new natural gas conversion tech

Eni and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) signed a joint development agreement to further develop technology for natural gas conversion, the Italian oil and gas company said in a statement.

The natural gas will be converted into synthesis gas that can be further transformed into high-value fuels and chemicals, such as methanol, the statement said.

The partnership will involve, among other activities, the construction of an industrial demonstration plant that will be built and operated inside Eni industrial premises. 

The development project will advance the technology, which is based on the Short Contact Time Catalytic Partial Oxidation (SCT-CPO) of natural gas.

This technology was initially developed by Eni after an intensive R&D period. This was coupled with SABIC’s short contact time reactor R&D and the company’s extensive knowledge of the integration of synthesis gas generation into processes to produce derived chemicals.

“The joint technology will be a truly innovative way of making synthesis gas and integration into high-value applications to achieve lower CAPEX and OPEX, higher energy efficiency, lower CO₂ footprint and wide feedstock flexibility,” the statement noted.