Saudi Aramco signs deals to build refinery in China

Saudi Aramco signs deals to build refinery in China

Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest energy company, has signed agreements with Chinese partners to build a state-of-the-art refining complex in the northeast region of the Asian nation. Aramco agreed to the deal with North Huajin Chemical and Panjin Xincheng to start construction on the refinery and petrochemical complex in Liaoning Province, Amin Nasser, the Saudi company’s president and chief executive officer, said at the China Development Forum in Beijing on Sunday. “We see a major win-win opportunity to build a world-leading, integrated downstream sector in China, with special emphasis on the high conversion of liquids directly into chemicals as part of our broader liquid-to-chemicals business expansion plans,” Nasser said. Aramco wants to be an all-inclusive source of energy and chemicals for China’s long-term energy security and China’s high-quality development, he said. An initial framework agreement for the Liaoning refinery was first signed during Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s visit to Beijing in March 2017. In 2019, Aramco agreed to set up a venture with two Chinese partners when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was in Beijing in what was seen as a landmark deal with a key ally. However, the Saudis briefly paused investment in the refinery venture in