Chemical makers Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic) and China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) have signed a strategic agreement to look into the construction of refining and chemical plants in China, and a joint venture business inside Saudi Arabia.
The two firms already jointly operate the Sinopec Sabic Tianjin Petrochemical Co. joint venture in Tinajin, China, and the agreement will also study further investments to the JV.
“We are entering a turning point in our strategic relationship and building on previous successes, such as studying the establishment of a coal-to-chemicals petrochemical complex with China’s Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group,” Yousef Al-Benyan, Sabic’s vice chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
The strategic agreement is part of a series of deals worth a total of US$65 billion, all signed on March 16, between Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, and China, the world’s second largest economy.
