On March 8, Chinese Petrochemical Corporation (SINOPEC) and Saudi Arabian Petroleum Corporation (Saudi Aramco) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (" MOU ").

According to the memorandum, the scope of cooperation includes sinopec's existing refining and chemical projects and future expansion projects, and the two sides will give full play to their advantages to further strengthen the long-term cooperative relationship. The two sides will also work together to optimize the operation of their joint venture Fujian United Petrochemical Co. LTD. (" Fujian United Petrochemical ").

It is understood that sinopec and Saudi Aramco currently have three joint ventures, namely Fujian Union Petrochemical In China, Sinopec Senmei (Fujian) Petroleum Company, and Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company in Saudi Arabia.

The cooperation projects between the two countries include crude oil trade, refining and chemical industry, engineering services and technological research and development. The two countries enjoy a good strategic partnership, and a number of projects jointly implemented have become models of energy cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia. In the context of accelerating global energy transition, the signing of the MOU will provide new opportunities to further deepen and expand the feedstock optimization and downstream petrochemical business development of China's petrochemical refineries.

Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani, Senior vice president of Downstream business at Saudi Aramco, said the signing of the MOU is a new chapter in the long-term partnership between Saudi Aramco and Sinopec. This will further facilitate the consolidation and expansion of Saudi Aramco's downstream business in Asia to meet China's growing energy needs by providing low carbon intensity crude oil.