Rongsheng Petrochemical Signs Agreement with Saudi Aramco to Discuss Acquisitions

On January 2, Rongsheng Petrochemical and Saudi Aramco signed a memorandum of understanding in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The two parties plan to acquire the equity of each other's subsidiary entities.

This is a further deepening of cooperation after the two parties signed a series of cooperation agreements in March 2023, marking an important step towards investment cooperation in transnational entities.

The memorandum shows that the two parties are discussing Rongsheng Petrochemical (or its related parties)’s plan to acquire 50% of the equity of SASREF, and plan to increase refining and chemical production capacity and improve product flexibility, complexity and quality through expansion.

At the same time, the two parties are also discussing the potential acquisition by Saudi Aramco (or its related parties) of no more than 50% of the equity of Ningbo Zhongjin Petrochemical Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Rongsheng Petrochemical, and jointly develop the upgrade and expansion of existing equipment of Zhongjin Petrochemical and the development of new downstream project Rongsheng New Materials (Zhoushan).

Rongsheng Petrochemical operates the world's largest single refinery Zhejiang Petrochemical's 40 million tons refining and chemical integration project. It also has laid out the Ningbo Zhongjin Petrochemical aromatics project, Yisheng series PTA project, etc. 

Rongsheng Petrochemical is an important manufacturer of polyester, new energy materials, engineering plastics and high value-added polyolefins in China and Asia. It is the world's largest manufacturer of PX, PTA and other chemical products, and its production capacity of polyethylene, polypropylene, PET, EVA, ABS, PC and other products ranks among the top in the world. Currently, Rongsheng Petrochemical is also planning new projects such as the upgrade and expansion of Ningbo Zhongjin Petrochemical and Rongsheng New Materials (Zhoushan).

Acquiring the equity of Saudi Aramco’s refinery in Saudi Arabia and participating in its expansion project, while introducing Saudi Aramco to deeply participate in the construction of domestic projects in China, is an important strategic layout for Rongsheng Petrochemical to accelerate the global coordinated development of the petrochemical industry.