DHAHRAN —

Saudi Aramco recently signed an MoU with Chinese Zhejiang provincial government during the 2nd International Petroleum and Natural Gas Enterprises Conference (IPEC) to acquire a share of Zhejiang Petrochemical’s new refinery project.

Abdulaziz Al Judaimi, Sr. VP Downstream, said: “We are exploring opportunities for new refining and petrochemicals facilities, making further investments in China. Saudi Aramco has recently signed a crude oil supply agreement with Zhejiang Petrochemical (Rongsheng). This increase in customer base is due to our continuous focus and attention to the Chinese market. We are also a major JV partner in a growing portfolio of refining and petrochemical assets in China.”

Saudi Aramco plays an important part in China’s energy security. Since our first crude delivery to China, we have steadily increased our supply to Chinese oil companies in line with their requirements. Since 2006 to date, no one delivered more oil to China than Saudi Aramco. Helping China meet its critical energy needs shows Aramco’s commitment to key global markets.

Saudi Aramco is working to achieve a better balance between its world-class upstream and its growing downstream. The company’s downstream strategy seeks to enhance the value of the hydrocarbon resource base by targeting increased horizontal and vertical integration across the hydrocarbon value chain. The successful execution of the downstream strategy would deliver a world leading, strategically integrated downstream network and a robust portfolio that is more resilient to market turbulence.

Major refining, marketing and petrochemicals joint ventures are being created in such leading consuming nations as China and India, besides Malaysia, in addition to our existing assets in the US, South Korea, and Japan. — SG