​Shortly after entering the third millennium, Saudi Aramco began studying the future prospects of the oil refinery currently located on 24 million square meters, located 165 kilometers north of Jeddah on the Red Sea coast. The initial idea was limited to developing the existing refinery, but this idea was soon developed, and Saudi Aramco began to explore other opportunities and possibilities.

The strategic location of Rabigh Refinery overlooks the western coast of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which allows easy access to European and Asian markets through the port of the refinery in deep waters. The management of "Saudi Aramco" company spotted a suitable opportunity to enter a new field in Rabigh.

At that time, Saudi Aramco did not operate any petrochemical plants. The company realized that the success of its promising future project requires advanced technologies and global expertise in marketing petrochemical products, which was provided by Sumitomo Chemical, one of the leading chemical companies in the world. Thus, Petro Rabigh was born.