Aramco Downstream President Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani delivered a keynote speech via video link at SCMP China Conference in Hong Kong, July 4, 2024.
The following is the full text of the speech:
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: nǐ hǎo, hello, and good morning.
I hope that you are enjoying the conference so far, and I wish I could have joined you in person. Fortunately, video technology enables me to share our perspective on these important subjects!
First and foremost, I want to express Aramco’s appreciation for the collaborative partnerships that we have formed across China over the past several decades.
Over time, these partnerships have grown to be more than just business. They have become genuine friendships, rooted in shared values and aspirations.
That is why we take such great pride in being one of China’s most reliable energy suppliers.
And it is why we are committed to China’s long-term energy security.
We are in full agreement with His Excellency, President Xi, that both conventional energy and alternative sources of energy will be important to meet the country’s needs in the coming decades.
To reflect that, we continue to add a range of lower carbon energy sources to our portfolio.
We are developing innovative technologies that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, like blue hydrogen, electro fuels, and carbon capture and storage—all while strengthening our existing oil and gas production capacity.
We believe this strategy can bring results tomorrow as we continue to deliver for China today.
At the same time, we see many opportunities beyond energy alone to support China’s emphasis on high quality development.
One such area is petrochemicals, where the country already represents 40% of global sales.
Aramco is focused on building our liquids-to-chemicals capacity to meet rising demand, and we are already collaborating with Chinese businesses to do so.
Through partnerships with companies like Rongsheng Petrochemicals, we are supplying hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil per day for refining into chemicals.
A joint venture, Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Company, has also begun construction work to build an integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in Panjin.
And our chemicals subsidiary, SABIC, is on-track to begin construction of a major facility in Fujian.
Complementing these efforts, Aramco is developing other opportunities across the supply chain that align with China’s emphasis on lower carbon solutions.
One example I want to highlight is our NEXCEL center of excellence for non-metallic technologies in Beijing.
It is a partnership with the China Building Materials Academy to research and develop advanced materials that can help reduce GHG emissions in the building and construction industry.
This pioneering initiative can pave the way for other collaborations in areas that further expand the horizon of our partnerships in China—including, potentially, in areas like wind and solar.
As much as our relationships in China have grown over the years, I believe that we have only begun to scratch the surface of what is possible.
As our CEO Amin Nasser mentioned at this year’s China Development Forum, China is not just a market to us.
We see ourselves as a partner and friend—and we believe that we can work together to advance a high-quality development and a brighter future.
I wish you a pleasant rest of the conference, and look forward to seeing you all in person on my next visit. Xiè xie.