China’s ZPC Makes $735 Million Supply Deal with Saudi Aramco
- November 7, 2022
- Posted by: Quatro Strategies
- Category: Energy
China’s privately-owned refinery Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical Co (ZPC) made a deal with Saudi Arabia’s state owned oil giant Aramco to import 1.08 million tonnes (7.88 million barrels) of crude oil. The agreement, set to be worth $735 million), was signed on the weekend during the 5th China International Import Expo in Shanghai. The companies have not disclosed a timeframe for the deal but ZPC confirmed it without providing any details.
The 800,000 barrels-per-day ZPC refinery processed a total of 26.52 million tonnes crude oil in 2021.
Saudi Arabia delivered 1.76 million barrels per day (bpd) in shipments to China over the January to August period this year, marking an increase in its market share to 17.7% from 16.9% a year earlier.
Despite uncertainty in energy markets, China and Middle East oil companies continue long term cooperation. In August, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Aramco and Sinopec to partner on a wide range of joint venture projects in both countries.
Saudi Arabia recently stated that in addition to continuing in its role as China’s partner of choice in the oil market, the two countries would continue “close communication and strengthen co-operation to address emerging risks and challenges,” according to a joint communique from Saudi Energy Minister Bin Salman and Chinese National Energy Administrator Zhang.
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