Riyadh doubles down on Chinese downstream partnership

A flurry of petchems co-investments reflects Aramco’s drive to preserve long-term market share in both crude and its products

Chinese president Xi Jinping and Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) pledged to deepen energy sector cooperation during the former’s rare post-pandemic overseas visit to the Kingdom in December. And the words on this occasion were more than diplomatic platitudes. Agreements were signed during the trip for Saudi Aramco and China’s state-controlled Sinopec to co-develop a petrochemicals project in each country, as long-mooted expansion of downstream collaboration acquired concrete form. c.1.77mn bl/d – China’s Saudi crude imports The Saudi and Chinese energy sectors are symbiotically linked as respectively the world’s largest exporter and importer of cr