Chinese energy major China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) and Saudi Arabia’s national oil company, Saudi Aramco, have launched a joint venture “Fujian Sinopec Aramco Refining & Petrochemical Co., Ltd.” to build and operate a $9.8 billion refining and petrochemical complex in China’s South Eastern Fujian province.

It is a joint venture by Sinopec, Fujian Petrochemical Company Limited (FPCL) and Saudi Aramco.

The newly established company is set to advance the construction and operation of the second phase of the Fujian Gulei refining and petrochemical integration project.

The project officially commenced in November 2024, consisting of over 30 refining and chemical units including facilities with the crude oil processing capacity of 16 MTA, and the production capacities of 1.5 MTA of ethylene and 2 MTA of aromatics.

Additionally, the utilities, terminal berths and other auxiliary facilities will be built. Upon completion, a balanced upstream and downstream industrial chain will be reached in the Gulei Petrochemical Base, which will facilitate the development of the base toward a world-class petrochemical industry cluster.

HOU Qijun, Chairman of Sinopec, stated that Sinopec will join hands with all parties to advance the second phase of the Gulei project and build it into a flagship project in the high-quality “Belt and Road” cooperation, promoting a more profound paradigm of energy cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia.