Saudi oil giant Aramco has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Petrochemical Corp, popularly known as Sinopec Group, covering multiple areas of potential collaboration between both companies in Saudi Arabia.
The initial agreement outlines pathways for strategic cooperation between both companies and supports the long-term relationship between their existing joint ventures in China and Saudi Arabia.
“We are delighted to be able to extend our relationship with Sinopec and leverage our mutual strength and reach while creating a path to bring our long-standing cooperation in China to our facilities in Saudi Arabia,” Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani, senior vice president of Downstream at Aramco, said in a press release.
He added, “This latest collaboration will help to further advance our strategic relationship with Sinopec into key areas of mutual benefit within the Kingdom.”
The wide-ranging areas of potential cooperation include assessing refining and petrochemical integration opportunities, engineering, procurement and construction, oilfield services, upstream and downstream technologies as well as collaboration across carbon capture and hydrogen processes.
The companies will also discuss the opportunities for the establishment of a local manufacturing hub in King Salman Energy Park.
President of Sinopec Corp Yu Baocai said in a statement that Saudi Aramco is a “very important” partner for them and that both companies have yielded “fruitful collaborations and developed deep friendship over the years.”
“The signing of the MOU introduces a new chapter of our partnership in the Kingdom. The two companies will join hands in renewing the vitality and scoring new progress of the Belt and Road Initiative and Vision 2030,” Baocai added.
