Saudi Aramco CEO Amin H. Nasser on Energy Future with China

“Saudi Aramco aims to play a key role at the heart of China’s long-term energy security and high-quality development,” said Amin Hassan Nasser, President and CEO of the Saudi Arabian oil company (Saudi Aramco), during the China Development Forum in Beijing.

Saudi Aramco will expand its oil production capacity to 13 million barrels per day by 2027 while increasing gas production by more than 50% by 2030 to fuel China’s efforts to this end, Amin H. Nasser said.

“We are also working on solutions such as advanced carbon capture and storage (CCS) and circular carbon economy technologies. Furthermore, we recently launched a $1.5 billion venture capital sustainability fund to invest in advanced technologies to help us move closer to a net-zero emissions future.”

“We want to be an all-inclusive source of energy and chemicals for China’s long-term energy security and China’s high-quality development. That is why we are doubling down on China’s energy supply, including new lower carbon products, chemicals and advanced materials, all supported by emissions reduction technologies.”

Looking forward to the Chinese market, Amin H. Nasser said he sees a major win-win opportunity to build a world-leading, integrated downstream sector in China, with special emphasis on the high conversion of liquids directly into chemicals as part of the company’s broader liquid-to-chemicals business expansion plans.

Aramco said Monday it has agreed to acquire 10% of Rongsheng Petrochemical Co. Ltd. for $3.6 billion as part of its downstream expansion in China. The deal with Rongsheng sees Aramco supplying 480,000 bpd of petroleum from Saudi to what it said is China’s biggest integrated refining and chemicals plant.

“Among other assets, Rongsheng owns a 51% equity interest in ZPC [Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Co. Ltd.], which in turn owns and operates the largest integrated refining and chemicals complex in China with a capacity to process 800,000 bpd of crude oil and to produce 4.2 million metric tons of ethylene per year”, Aramco said in a press release.

The announcement came a day after Saudi Aramco said its joint refining and petrochemical complex in Panjin City, Liaoning Province in northeast China, is due to start construction in the second quarter. Expected to cost over $12 billion, the project includes a refinery that can produce up to 300,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Earlier Aramco said the Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Co. (HAPCO) joint venture, where the Saudi company has 30 percent ownership, will begin construction for the Panjin integrated refinery and petrochemical complex by June.

“In other words, we want to be an all-inclusive source of energy and chemicals for China’s long-term energy security and China’s high-quality development,” he said.

Amin H. Nasser said Sunday the company is working on “three major strategies” in China. “And we are evaluating entry into liquified natural gas as well”, he continued.

Aramco sees “a major win-win opportunity to build a world-leading, integrated downstream sector in China, with special emphasis on the high conversion of liquids directly into chemicals as part of our broader liquid-to-chemicals business expansion plans”, Nasser said.

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