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A sign on the Saudi Aramco booth at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference in the United Arab Emirates on October 3, 2023.
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CNN
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Saudi energy giant Aramco, the world’s largest oil and gas conglomerate, plans to increase investment in Chinese partners as it expands its operations in the country.
Aramco is in talks with Rongsheng Petrochemical to acquire up to a 50% stake in Rongsheng Petrochemical’s subsidiary Ningbo Qingjin Petrochemical, the Chinese company said in a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
Eisei, The Hangzhou-based private refiner also discussed the possibility of acquiring a 50% stake in Saudi Aramco Jubail Refinery, the refining arm of the Saudi company, citing a memorandum of understanding signed by the two sides a day earlier. He said there was.
The two companies can also jointly upgrade and expand the facilities of the Chinese subsidiary and build the large-scale Rongsheng New Materials (Zhoushan) project, Rongsheng said.
The project will produce high-performance petrochemical products such as engineering plastics, specialty polyesters, and high-grade resins that can be used in electronics and semiconductors.
Saudi Arabia has significantly strengthened its energy ties with China since last year.
Aramco agreed in March to acquire a 10% stake in Rongsheng for 24.6 billion yuan ($3.5 billion). As part of the agreement, China will supply 480,000 barrels of crude oil per day to Chinese companies.
China is also trying to increase its presence in the Middle Eastern country.
State-run oil refinery giant Sinopec has a joint venture with Aramco to operate a refinery project in Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu Industrial City. The Yanbu Aramco Sinopec refinery, which has been in operation since 2016, uses 400,000 barrels of Arabian heavy crude oil per day to produce premium transportation fuels, the company said.
Last month, Hong Kong rolled out the red carpet for Saudi Arabia’s elite at an investment conference. And in February 2023, the city’s CEO John Lee visited Riyadh, where he met with Aramco’s CEO and discussed the idea of a secondary listing in Hong Kong, according to a government statement. He said he took it with him.
Aramco went public in Riyadh in 2019, making it the largest IPO in history at the time.