Aramco going ahead with China project; refutes inaccurate report

Against the back of reports that state-owned oil/gas giant Saudi Aramco had backed out of a US$10 billion petchem project in China, the firm has reaffirmed its commitment to its expansion in China.

Bloomberg had reported that the Saudi oil giant had decided to stop investing in the project in the northeastern province of Liaoning.

But Aramco said: “A Bloomberg news article reporting the suspension of Aramco’s joint venture project with Norinco … is inaccurate.”

It added: “China remains an important market for Aramco and we intend to continue to grow our presence in that region. The project in Liaoning province is in the design phase and we continue to work with our partners in China.”

According to analysts, China, as the biggest trading nation in the world that is recovering faster than most others from the coronavirus pandemic, is one of Aramco’s top priorities, not just for crude exports but also for big downstream infrastructure projects like the one at Liaoning.

Under the plan, Aramco would be the main supplier of crude to the refinery, which has capacity to process 300,000 barrels of oil per day, making it one of the biggest in China.

Bloomberg published Aramco’s statement but declined to comment further on the matter.