The sixth China International Import Expo is held in Shanghai from November 5 to 10. This is the sixth time that Aramco has participated in this prestigious event.
Ibrahim Alaiderous, Aramco Asia Vice President of Marketing, attended the expo on November 6, where he delivered an opening remark at the NORINCO session.
Below is the full speech:
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be here today, at China’s most important annual trade fair and in front of such a distinguished audience at the NORINCO session. This is the sixth time that Aramco has participated in this prestigious event. For me, it’s my first time to participate in person, and I’m deeply honored to deliver the opening speech.
As always, the CIIE is a great occasion to review our accomplishments over the past twelve months. Fortunately, 2023 had a lot of positive developments to offer for all of us, as China has witnessed post-COVID economic recovery and the country’s energy demand has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
The most exciting development this year for me is that Aramco and our joint venture partners have broken ground on a 300,000 barrels-a-day greenfield refinery and petrochemical complex in Panjin, Liaoning Province. This new JV, Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Company (HAPCO), will manufacture advanced chemicals and enhance China’s energy security, while also expand our downstream presence.
I’m proud to say that more than two thirds of HAPCO’s crude oil feedstock will be Saudi Arabian barrels. In terms of upstream emissions, our upstream carbon intensity is among the lowest in the industry, making me even prouder that our supply to HAPCO will make a small but lasting contribution to China’s decarbonization efforts.
To supply this refinery, Aramco will team up with one of our long-lasting and trusted partners: ZhenHua Oil. Not many of you know this, but our relationship with ZhenHua is over a decade old. Few people at the time would have imagined how quickly our relationship would grow and that one day, and with ZhenHua’s assistance, Aramco would be entrusted with sourcing potentially more than 215,000 barrels per day of Arabian barrels to both HAPCO and Huajin Petrochemicals.
Such reliable partners are vital to Aramco’s growth story in China. Since Aramco dispatched the first crude oil cargo to China in the early 1990s, more than 300 tankers of Saudi Arabian crude now come to China every year, making Aramco the largest supplier of seaborne crude oil. One out of every six imported barrels that Chinese refiners process originates from one of our fields. In fact, most large coastal refineries in China are running some amount of Saudi crude oil at any given day of the year. This is not a report card for us, this is a badge of honor and a source of pride as we continue to participate in the Chinese economic miracle.
China for us isn’t just a large marketplace. In fact, in the words of our CEO Amin Nasser, “Aramco’s strategy is to move far beyond a buyer-seller relationship, to one where we can make significant investments to contribute to China’s economic growth and development.” HAPCO and other investments by Aramco in China follow that proud tradition. I would like to stress that the spirit and policy support of President Xi’s “Belt and Road” Initiative have provided a very favorable environment for our investments.
There are still many mutual growth opportunities, both in China and in Saudi Arabia, and not just in the realm of energy. I’m confident that we will continue to jointly achieve great things in the future, and that we will grow and prosper together.
On that note, I wish this event great success and look forward to next year.
Xie-xie (Thank you)