SINGAPORE: Saudi Aramco, Sinopec and Fujian Petrochemical Company Limited (FPCL) have initiated construction on a refining and petrochemical complex in the Fujian province of China.
This project, Aramco’s second major joint venture (JV) with a Chinese state oil entity, is expected to cost 71.1bn yuan ($9.82bn), according to Reuters.
Located in the Gulei industrial park in Zhangzhou city, the new venture features a refinery with a capacity of 16 million tons-per-year oil refining unit or 320,000 barrels per day, along with a 1.5 million tons-per-year ethylene unit, a two million tons paraxylene and downstream derivatives capacity, and a 300,000 tons crude oil terminal, according to a press release issued by Aramco.
FPCL, a 50:50 joint venture between Sinopec and Fujian Petrochemical Industrial Group Company, will own a 50% stake in the complex, with Aramco and Sinopec each taking a 25% stake. The project is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2030, the press release added.
Aramco downstream president Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani said, “Building on our strong relationships with both SINOPEC and Fujian Petrochemical, today’s groundbreaking further expands Aramco’s growing downstream investment portfolio in China.”
“We will supply in excess of one million barrels per day of our crude oil to these high chemical conversion assets in China, reinforcing Aramco’s role as a reliable and long-term partner in China’s development. This also advances our liquids-to-chemicals strategy, through which we intend to direct more of our crude towards helping meet rising global petrochemicals demand,” Al Qahtani said.
SINOPEC chairman Ma Yongsheng said, “Both SINOPEC and Aramco are committed to promoting the high-quality development of the petroleum and petrochemical industry. Aramco’s participation supplies long-term reliable and competitive feedstock for the project and further boosts the healthy development of Gulei Petrochemical Base.”
“Successful cooperation in this project marks a new milestone in the China-Saudi all-weather strategic partnership, with a focus on greater domestic circulation and in line with the dual circulation strategy,” Yongsheng said.
