Saudi Aramco to pursue more investments in oil, chemical plants in China, CEO says
- Saudi’s state-run oil giant wants to turn more oil into petrochemicals to ride on growing demand from China’s solar-panel and battery industries
The world’s largest crude exporting company is targeting additional facilities that can turn oil into chemicals, CEO Amin Nasser said. Aramco sees demand for goods such as plastics outlasting the growth in consumption for petrol and diesel amid the energy transition.
“We are looking currently at a number of investments in China that will be announced in due course this year and next year,” he said Nasser in a post-earnings call on Tuesday. South Korea and India are as potential investment destinations, he added.
Aramco is already in talks to buy a 10 per cent stake in China’s Hengli Petrochemical, and is seeking similar deals with two other Chinese companies. It completed a US$3.4 billion deal for a stake in Rongsheng Petrochemical last year.
The Saudi state-run company aims to eventually turn about 4 million barrels a day of crude into chemicals, from about 2 million currently, Nasser said. It’s looking to upgrade existing facilities in Saudi Arabia to be able to process more oil into petrochemicals, he added.