Aramco and Sinopec strengthen ties

Saudi Aramco has revealed the company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), in what was described as a mutual effort to deepen the existing cooperation between the two companies and strengthen their relations and business development opportunities. The MOU was signed by president and CEO of Saudi Aramco Abdallah Jum'ah and president of Sinopec Su Shulin.

Jum'ah explained that the MOU is aimed at revitalizing the relations between Saudi Aramco and Sinopec, reflecting both China's view of the crucial role of Saudi oil in the world as well as the Kingdom's view of China's crucial role in the global economy.

Shulin responded by saying the MOU constitutes the beginning of a new era between the two companies, referring to his aspirations to expand current joint operations, and expressed his appreciation for all the cooperation given by the governments of China and the Kingdom.

Saudi Aramco was also host this month to the Vice President of China, Xi Jinping, who visited the headquarters in Dhahran and other Aramco facilities. The Chinese Vice President expressed his admiration for the strong trade relations that bind Saudi Aramco with Chinese companies, as well as his admiration for the company's dedication to technical advances and its reliability in energy production.

The volume of crude oil trade between Aramco and Sinopec has been steadily increasing. In 2007, Sinopec imported nearly 23 million tonnes of crude oil from Saudi Aramco at an average of 460,000 barrels per day (bpd). With the current expansion of Fujian Refinery, Sinopec will be looking this year to import 32.4 million tonnes at an average of 650,000 bpd.

It is expected that by 2010 the average rate will increase to 1 million bpd, as per an MOU signed between the companies in 2006, and by 2015, the rate will reach a predicted 1.5 million bpd.

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