BEIJING – Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Aramco), has opened a new Chinese head office in Beijing on Monday. Aramco Asia, a solely-owned subsidiary of Aramco, will serve as the business and cultural exchange portal between Aramco and China. The new head office in Beijing has two supporting branches in Shanghai and Xiamen, it said. The new offices will provide crude oil and chemicals marketing services, joint venture coordination, procurement, inspection, research and development, project management, human resources development and communications in the region, a press statement said Wednesday. “Our new Asia office here in Beijing will be a hub for facilitating our joint activities in general and in particular investment and other business opportunities arising from the capital projects in Saudi Arabia and Asia,” Abdulrahman F. Al-Wuhaib, Saudi Aramco Senior Vice President, Downstream, said at the Aramco Asia inauguration ceremony on Monday in Beijing. “Aramco Asia brings together our business operations in this fast-growing region under one entity and be unified in carrying out Saudi Aramco's vision and strategy for Asia. Aramco Asia will play an important role and be part of the building blocks that will contribute to Saudi Aramco's corporate transformation to become a global leader in energy and chemicals by 2020,” said Dawood M. Dawood, vice president, Marketing, Supply and Joint Venture Coordination (MSJVC), Saudi Aramco, who led Saudi Aramco teams in implementing the company's strategy in the establishment of Aramco Asia. More than 300 distinguished guests, including Chinese government officials, foreign embassies' ambassadors, top executives of energy companies, veteran energy experts and researchers from Chinese academia and institutions, as well as Saudi Aramco and Aramco Asia's long-term partners, attended the grand inauguration. “Aramco Asia will offer a full range of services and resources for the handling and management of robust business between Saudi Aramco and our partners and companies in China, and the wider Asia region,” said Sulaiman M. Ababtain, president, Aramco Asia, at the inauguration ceremony. At present, Aramco Asia manages the interest of two joint ventures in China: Fujian Refining and Petrochemical Company, or FRPC, and Sinopec Senmei Petroleum Company Ltd. Both are located in southeastern Fujian province. In addition, Aramco Asia is preparing to sell chemical products from FRPC to tap into China's chemical market, aligned with parent Saudi Aramco's goal to become a global leader in refining and chemicals by 2020. Aramco already has two joint ventures in China with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (SNP), or Sinopec Group, and ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM). It holds a 22.5 percent stake in retail oil products distributor Sinopec SenMei Petroleum Company, and a 25 percent stake in the Fujian Refining & Petrochemical Company, which operates a 240,000 barrel-per-day refinery. The province of Fuji also has a 25 percent stake in the operation. Saudi Aramco is also planning to sell chemical products from FRPC to tap in to China's lucrative chemical market, the press release said. Separately, Aramco is developing a 400,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Yanbu on the Saudi Red Sea coast together with Sinopec. Aramco will own 62.5 percent stakes in the project. – SG/Agencies
