Saudi Aramco is to set up a major integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in northeast China in a three-way joint venture with NORINCO Group and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group.
The new project is named Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Company (HAPCO).
Aramco will hold 30 percent stake in the JV, while NORINCO Group will have a majority of 51 percent and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group will hold the remaining 19 percent stake.
The new facility will be a 300,000 barrels per day refinery and a petrochemical plant with an annual production capacity of 1.65 million metric tons of ethylene and 2 million metric tons of paraxylene.
Construction is due to start in the second quarter of 2023, after the project secured the required administrative approvals. It is expected to be fully operational by 2026.
Aramco will supply up to 210,000 bpd of crude oil feedstock to the complex, which is being built in the city of Panjin, in China’s Liaoning province.
Aramco Executive Vice President of Downstream, Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani, said the project will support China’s growing demand across the fuel and chemical products.
“It also represents a major milestone in our ongoing downstream expansion strategy in China and the wider region, which is an increasingly significant driver of global petrochemical demand,” he said.“
NORINCO Group deputy general manager, Zou Wenchao, said: “This large-scale refinery and petrochemical complex is a key project of NORINCO Group to implement and realize the joint development of the high-quality Belt and Road initiative.”
He said it will also play an important role in deepening economic and trade cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia.
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