Saudi Aramco is planning refining and chemicals deals in Asia as it moves to establish new partnerships, Bloomberg reported.

The company is looking at China and India for more acquisitions, president of Aramco’s downstream unit, Mohammed Al Qahtani, told Bloomberg.

The majority of Aramco’s crude is sold in Asia, with demand for oil and related products expected to expand in the region, he added.

Aramco, which has invested more than $80 billion in the downstream sector since 2016, is negotiating two deals in China.  

“Really, the big growth markets for us are China, India, and Southeast Asia,” Al Qahtani told the news agency.
 
Talks in China are proceeding faster than in India, Al Qahtani added.

Aramco signed a non-binding letter of intent with India’s Reliance Industries in August 2019 for a potential 20% stake in the latter’s oil-to-chemicals unit valued at $15 billion. However, the agreement was terminated in 2021.

Reliance is “a big customer for us” that Aramco would “love to partner with, so we’ll see,” Al Qahtani told Bloomberg.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)