Saudi Aramco is looking to identify additional investment opportunities in China as part of its key global strategy, according to President and CEO Amin H Nasser.

Nasser, who was speaking at the China Development Forum in Beijing, the Saudi energy giant was “actively supporting energy and chemical feedstock security by investing in multiple downstream projects” in China.

“China is among our key investment destinations. Our investments are currently in Fujian, Liaoning, Zhejiang and Tianjin. I emphasize ‘currently’ because we are continuing to identify additional opportunities, which include energy and chemicals, as well as technology,” Nasser added.

In November, Aramco and Sinopec Corp started construction on $9.82 billion refinery and petrochemical complex in southeast China’s Fujian province, which marked the Saudi firm’s second major refining and petrochemical joint venture in the Asian country.

Aramco acquired a 10% stake in Rongsheng Petrochemical for approximately $3.6 billion in 2023.

The Aramco head referred to China as the “world’s largest consumer and producer of petrochemicals, accounting for nearly half of global demand, and it is becoming a major hub for the entire chemicals industry value chain, which will be critical to industries of the future”.

Saudi, which is the world’s top oil exporter, lowered its crude oil prices for Asian buyers in April for the first time in three months.

During his address, Nasser said that oil and gas remain “critical” to China’s economic growth equation. “That said, our expectation is that, over time, oil demand here will shift from light transport toward petrochemicals due to a rising need for plastics, synthetic fibres, and other high-end materials. A reliable supply of these materials will be essential to China’s high-quality critical growth industries – including wind and solar energy, automotive, aerospace, and construction,” he added.

The Aramco chief’s announcement comes weeks after the company posted a 12% decline in full-year 2024 net profit to 398.42 billion riyals ($106 billion), due to lower prices and sales impacting revenues. Consequently, the company is set to pay lower dividends in 2025.

(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)

bindu.rai@lseg.com