Saudi Aramco and its joint venture partners, Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group and NORINCO Group, plan to start constructing a major integrated refinery and petrochemical complex that will be located in northeast China, Aramco said in a statement.

Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Company (HAPCO), the joint venture between Aramco (30%), Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group (19%) and NORINCO Group (51%), is developing the complex that will combine a 300,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) refinery as well as a petrochemical plant with an annual production capacity of 2 million metric tons of paraxylene and 1.65 million metric tons of ethylene.

The complex construction will start in Q2 of 2023 after the project secures the required administrative approvals. The project is set to be completely operational by 2026 and according to The Economic Times it will cost up to $10 billion.

Aramco will supply up to 210,000 bbl/d of crude oil feedstock to the complex, built in the city of Panjin, in China’s Liaoning province.

“This important project will support China’s growing demand across fuel and chemical products. It also represents a major milestone in our ongoing downstream expansion strategy in China and the wider region, which is an increasingly significant driver of global petrochemical demand,” Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani, Aramco Executive Vice President of Downstream, said.

“The project is of great significance for Panjin to promote increasing chemicals and specialty products, strengthening integration of the refining and chemical industry. It is a symbolic project for Panjin as it seeks to accelerate the development of an important national petrochemical and fine chemical industry base,” Jia Fei, Panjin Xincheng Chairman of the Board, noted.

“This large-scale refinery and petrochemical complex is a key project of NORINCO Group to implement and realize the joint development of the high-quality Belt and Road initiative, promote industrial restructuring, and enhance the oil and petrochemical sector to become stronger, better and larger. It will play an important role in deepening economic and trade cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia, and achieving common development and prosperity,” Zou Wenchao, NORINCO Group Deputy General Manager, commented.