A Banner Week in China

BEIJING, November 18, 2009 -- The inauguration of joint-venture refining and petrochemical facilities and the award of an honorary doctorate to Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali I. Al-Naimi were among the highlights of a milestone week for Saudi Aramco in China.

Other major events included meetings between members of Saudi Aramco management and leading Chinese government officials, customers and business partners, as well as a speech delivered by president and CEO Khalid A. Al-Falih as part of Tsinghua University’s Global Vision Lectures series.

Al-Falih also spread his message of reliable petroleum supplies and a firm commitment to the Chinese market through interviews with major media outlets such as the Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television

A Nov. 11 ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the formal inauguration of the Fujian Integrated Refining and Ethylene Project (FREP), a joint venture between Saudi Aramco, Sinopec and ExxonMobil located in Quangang, in China’s southeastern Fujian Province

In addition to Al-Naimi and Al-Falih, the event was also attended by Khalid G. Al-Buainain, senior vice president of Refining, Marketing and International; Dawood M. Al-Dawood, vice president of Marketing, Supply and Joint Venture Coordination; Abdullah Al-Suwailem, director of Asia Joint Ventures; and Abdallah Al-Subaiyyal, vice president of the Fujian Refining and Petrochemical Co. Ltd.

Other attendees included Yahya Al-Zaid, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to China; senior officials from the Chinese central government; the governor of Fujian Province; the secretary of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee; and management representatives from Saudi Aramco, Sinopec and ExxonMobil.

The FREP project, the first of its kind in China involving foreign investors, expanded an existing 80,000-barrel-per-day refinery to a capacity of 240,000 bpd and added ethylene, polyethylene, polypropylene and paraxylene production facilities as well as a new crude oil terminal. The facility is designed to process primarily Arabian crudes.

“If energy is the lifeblood of modern civilization,” Al-Falih said at the inauguration ceremony, “then facilities such as this are the beating hearts, which deliver vital petroleum and products to industry and individuals alike, enabling them to build more prosperous societies and communities, to live more satisfying lives, and to turn dreams and aspirations into tangible reality.”

Two days later, there was a different kind of ceremony in the Chinese capital, as Al-Naimi was presented with an honorary doctorate by Beijing University, one of China’s leading institutions of higher education.

The minister took the opportunity not only to describe the vibrant energy relationship that exists between the Kingdom and the People’s Republic, but also to highlight developments at the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST).

Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding, KAUST and Beijing University are now collaborating on research and student exchange programs.

Reflecting on the bilateral relationship, Al-Naimi told the audience, “I am very impressed by China’s dynamic and creative people, its rich traditions and culture, and its extraordinary socio-economic development. I sincerely hope that the longstanding friendly relations between our two countries will continue to flourish, not only in the areas of oil and energy trade and investment, but in the political, commercial and cultural spheres. My sense is that we have tapped only a small fraction of the potential of our relationship, for the good of China, Saudi Arabia and the world.”

That same day, Al-Falih took the podium at Tsinghua University, also in Beijing, to address professors and students at the school known as the “MIT of China.” After describing the role that technology, talent and teaming play in Saudi Aramco’s continued success as an energy provider, and how those same drivers are helping the Kingdom in its transition to a knowledge-based economy, Al-Falih described the multidimensional nature of the company’s engagement with the Chinese market.

“As I speak,” he said, “a tanker full of Saudi Aramco petroleum is passing a container ship laden with Chinese manufactured goods bound for the Kingdom’s ports. Chinese industry and commerce depend on the reliable supply of our oil to fuel their factories, and we in turn use Chinese equipment and services in our fields and facilities to maintain our reliability. Young Saudis come here to learn, while Chinese students are pursuing master’s and doctorate degrees in the laboratories and lecture halls of KAUST. And as in the past, we once again look to one another from the opposite sides of Asia for ideas, information and insights, and come together to explore opportunities for greater intellectual exchange.”

Al-Falih’s stay in China was capped by a reception at which the company hosted distinguished figures from government and public policy, energy and industry, commerce and trade, and culture and the arts. There, Al-Falih once again stressed the depth and breadth of Saudi Aramco’s interactions with this fast-growing economy and rapidly developing society.

“Our ties to China cannot be reduced to a single thread,” he said. “Rather, I see them as something like a rope, with various strands and fibers woven together to provide greater strength and increased durability.

“And just as a thick cable is stronger and sturdier than a simple string, and therefore able to carry a greater load in even the most trying of conditions, so has our multifaceted relationship been crafted to endure and our common bonds built to last.”