Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil exporter, signed a preliminary agreement with China Petrochemical Corporation to boost cooperation on oil and gas projects in the country.Aramco said the companies would look for potential opportunities in refining and petrochemicals, engineering, procurement and construction, oilfield services, upstream and downstream technologies, and carbon capture and hydrogen production processes. The two companies will also discuss opportunities to establish a local manufacturing center in the King Salman Energy Park, a large-scale industrial project in the kingdom's eastern province developed by the state-owned energy company.

Yu Baocai, president of Sinopec, said the latest agreement opens a new chapter in our partnership in Saudi Arabia. China, the world's second largest economy, is building multiple projects in different countries as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Mohammed Al Qahtani, Senior Vice President of Downstream Operations at Saudi Aramco, said this latest collaboration will help further our strategic relationship with Sinopec into key areas of mutual benefit in Saudi Arabia.

The two companies are already working together on joint venture projects in China and Saudi Arabia. These include China's Fujian Refinery and Sinopec Sammi Petroleum, and Saudi Arabia's Yanbu Aramco-Sinopec Refinery.

The latest agreement comes as Saudi Aramco continues to expand its operations and partnerships to fuel growth. The company said it would buy the lubricants business of Kentucky-based motor oil maker Valvoline for $2.65 billion. The transaction is expected to close in late 2022 or early 2023, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Keywords: engineering news, overseas news

In May 2022, Saudi Aramco also said it was exploring further cooperation with Thailand's state oil company PTT to expand its downstream business in Asia. The two companies signed a preliminary agreement to strengthen cooperation in crude oil procurement as well as refining and marketing of petrochemicals and liquefied natural gas.Editor/XingWentao