|
Riyadh: Saudi state oil giant Aramco, US major ExxonMobil and China's Sinopec will hold on Friday a formal signing ceremony for a multi-billion dollar joint-venture in China's Fujian province.
They announced they had finalised the deal to triple the capacity of the Fujian oil refinery in February, pending government approval in both Saudi Arabia and China. When it was agreed in 2005, the project had a price tag of $3.5 billion.
"The signature of the partnership accord for the Fujian joint-venture project... strengthens the solid strategic economic partnership between the kingdom and China," Aramco said in a statement.
Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi and Aramco CEO Abdullah Jumah will attend the signing ceremony in Beijing with Sinopec and Exxon executives.
Saudi Arabia is the main supplier of crude to China, the world's second largest energy consumer.
The deal gives Aramco and Exxon a foothold in China's sector, dominated by state giants Sinopec and PetroChina.
It would triple Fujian refinery's capacity to 240,0000 barrels per day (bpd). The expanded refinery will start up in early 2009, Aramco said.
|
