TWO AGREEMENTS OF JOINT VENTURE PROJECTS AMONG SAUDI ARAMCO, CHINA'S OIL COMPANY "SINOPEC" AND EXXONMOBIL WERE SIGNED HERE TODAY. THE TWO JOINT VENTURES ARE "THE FUJIAN REFINING AND ETHYLENE JOINT VENTURE PROJECT" AND "THE FUJIAN FUELS MARKETING JOINT VENTURE." THE SIGNING WAS ATTENDED BY MINISTER OF PETROLEUM AND MINERAL RESOURCES ALI ALNAIMI. IN A PRESS STATEMENT FOLLOWING THE SIGNING, ALNAIMI SAID IN LINE WITH SAUDI LEADERS' DIRECTIVES, SAUDI ARABIA IS WORKING TO SET UP GROWING AND STRONG ECONOMIC RELATIONS WITH CHINA, ADDING THAT TODAY'S SIGNING OF THE TWO JOINT VENTURE PROJECTS AS WELL AS A SEPARATE JOINT VENTURE BETWEEN SINOPEC AND SAUDI ARAMCO TO LOOK FOR GAS IN THE KINGDOM ARE PARTS OF THIS ENDEAVOUR TO BOLSTER SAUDI-SINO COOPERATION. THE TWO JOINT VENTURES SIGNED TODAY, WITH A TOTAL INVESTMENT OF ABOUT US$5.6 BILLION, ARE THE FIRST FULLY INTEGRATED REFINING, PETROCHEMICALS AND FUELS MARKETING PROJECT WITH FOREIGN PARTICIPATION IN CHINA. THE FUJIAN REFINING AND ETHYLENE JOINT VENTURE PROJECT, LOCATED IN QUANZHOU, FUJIAN PROVINCE, WILL EXPAND THE EXISTING REFINERY FROM 80,000 BARRELS-PER-DAY (4 MILLION TONS-PER-YEAR) TO 240,000 BARRELS-PER-DAY (12 MILLION TONS-PER-YEAR). THE UPGRADED REFINERY WILL PRIMARILY REFINE AND PROCESS SOUR ARABIAN CRUDE. IN ADDITION, THE PROJECT WILL CONSTRUCT AN 800,000 TONS-PER-YEAR ETHYLENE STEAM CRACKER, AN 800,000 TONS-PER-YEAR POLYETHYLENE UNIT, A 400,000 TONS-PER-YEAR POLYPROPYLENE UNIT AND AN AROMATICS COMPLEX TO PRODUCE 700,000 TONS-PER-YEAR OF PARAXYLENE. SUPPORT FACILITIES INCLUDING A 300,000 TON CRUDE BERTH AND POWER COGENERATION WILL ALSO BE BUILT. --MORE
