The partnership has carried out a groundbreaking ceremony for the Saudi Aramco – NORINCO project in Panjin of Liaoning province in northeast China.
Development plans for the project has been advanced during the visit of Saudi Arabia king Salman Bin Abdulaziz to China in March this year, when Saudi Aramco and NORINCO signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the project.
The new project will help China to develop the industrial value chain, facilitate overseas oil exploration and trade, in addition to expanding operations in the petrochemical, final chemicals and specialty chemical sectors.
Through completion of environmental impact assessment and obtaining 23 project supporting documents, the project secured final approval from Liaoning Provincial Development and Reform Commission.
Designed to build a world-class refining and chemical integration base, the project will further support the implementation of China’s Belt & Road initiative.
The project will help Saudi Aramco to expand its operations in China’s downstream industry, while NORINCO to enhance its competitiveness in NORINCO’s petrochemical and value-added chemical divisions.
Saudi Aramco downstream senior vice president Abdulaziz M. Al-Judaimi said: “Norinco and the government of Liaoning province are amongst the best partners to be in this project considering the great value proposition they are bringing to the table.
“There might be some challenges that we may face in the journey of implementing this project in the future, as in any worthy endeavor, but I am confident that we will be able to overcome them taking into consideration first Saudi Aramco’s proven record of project management skills while executing mega projects and second the strong commitment shown by all the stakeholders to work together as one team to make sure this project is a big success.”
Image: Saudi Aramco downstream senior vice president Abdulaziz M. Al-Judaimi and Norinco Group deputy GM Zhao Gang signed the joint framework agreement on refining, petrochemical, and retail project in Beijing. Photo: courtesy of Saudi Arabian Oil Co.
