State owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Aramco, has opened a new Chinese
head office in Beijing, deepening its presences in one of the world's largest
energy consumers, in a move the company says "underscores the strategic
importance of Asia" in its operation.
Aramco Asia, a solely-owned subsidiary of Aramco, opened on Monday and will
serve as the business and cultural exchange portal between Aramco and
China
. The
new head office in
Beijing
has
two supporting branches in
Shanghai
and
Xiamen
, it
said.
"Our new
Asia
office here in
Beijing
will
be a hub for facilitating our joint activities in general and in particular
investment and other business opportunities arising from the capital projects
in
Saudi Arabia
and
Asia
,"
said Aramco Senior Vice President Abdulrahman F. Al-Wuhaib at the Aramco Asia
inauguration ceremony on Monday in
Beijing
.
The new offices will provide crude oil and chemicals marketing services, joint
venture coordination, procurement, inspection, research and development,
project management, human resources development and communications in the
region, according to the press release.
Aramco already has two joint ventures in
China
with
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (SNP), or Sinopec Group, and ExxonMobil
Corp. (XOM). It holds a 22.5% stake in retail oil products distributor Sinopec
SenMei Petroleum Company, and a 25% stake in the Fujian Refining &
Petrochemical Company, which operates a 240,000 barrel-per-day refinery. The
province
of
Fuji
also
has a 25% stake in the operation.
Saudi Aramco is also planning to sell chemical products from FRPC to tap in to
China
's
lucrative chemical market, the press release said.
Separately, Aramco is developing a 400,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Yanbu on
the Saudi Red Sea coast together with Sinopec. Aramco will own 62.5% stakes in the project.