Saudi Aramco Tuesday announced the official opening of its Asian head office in Beijing in a move aimed at strengthening its presence in China.
Saudi Aramco said its Aramco Asia office, a wholly-owned affiliate headquartered in Beijing, would serve as "the business and cultural exchange portal between Saudi Aramco and China". The new head office has two supporting branches in Shanghai and Xiamen along China's eastern coast.
"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 capital projects in Saudi Arabia and Asia," Saudi Aramco Senior Vice President, Downstream, Abdulrahman F. Al-Wuhaib said in a statement.
The new entity will handle crude oil and chemicals marketing, joint venture coordination, procurement, inspection, research and development, project management, human resource development and communications in the region.
Aramco Asia currently has a 22.5% stake in the Fujian Refining and Petrochemical Co. project as well as the associated fuel marketing venture Sinopec Senmei Petroleum Co. in southeastern Fujian province, both partnering state company Sinopec (55%) and ExxonMobil (22.5%).
"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," the statement said.
