Saudi Aramco (2222. SE) and its Chinese partners plan to begin full operations at a northeast China refinery and petrochemical complex in 2026 to satisfy rising gasoline and petrochemical demand.
The $10 billion Panjin facility in Liaoning province will be Aramco’s second large refining-petrochemical venture in China.
Aramco said its joint venture Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Company (HAPCO) would develop and manage the complex, including a 300,000-bpd oil refinery and a cracker that can produce 1.65 million tonnes of ethylene and 2 million tonnes of paraxylene.
Aramco said the complex would begin construction in the second quarter after receiving administrative permits. It said the facility should be completely operating by 2026.
The facility will get 210,000 bpd of crude oil from Aramco.
Aramco and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Company control 30% and 19% of HAPCO, respectively, while state-owned NORINCO Group holds 51%.
According to the provincial government’s website, Aramco signed a memorandum of understanding with Guangdong on Sunday to explore collaboration in energy, finance, research, and innovation.
Saudi Aramco’s Master Gas System is the largest hydrocarbon network. In 2013, it produced 3.4 billion barrels (540 million cubic meters) of crude oil from 100 Saudi Arabian oil and gas fields and 288.4 trillion SCF of natural gas reserves. In addition, Saudi Aramco maintains the world’s largest onshore and offshore oil fields, Ghawar and Safaniya.
Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and BASF (BASFn.DE) have built massive petrochemical facilities in Guangdong, China’s biggest province.
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