According to Aramco’s estimates, the project in Liaoning province’s city of Panjin is expected to cost $10 billion, which will be their second major refining-petrochemical investment in China.

“Our joint venture, Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Company (HAPCO), is going to construct and operate the complex facility that will house a 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) oil refinery and a cracker with an annual production capacity of 1.65 million tonnes of ethylene and 2 million tonnes of paraxylene,” Aramco said in a statement.

The firm also mentioned that construction at the complex will begin in the second quarter after the project safeguards the required administrative approvals.

“The plant is expected to be fully operational by 2026,” it added.

Overall, Aramco is set to supply around 210,000 bpd of crude oil as feedstock for the plant.

Whereas, state-owned NORINCO Group, a Chinese military equipment maker, owns 51% of HAPCO, while Aramco and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group hold stakes of 30% and 19%, simultaneously.

According to a post on the provincial government’s website exhibited on Sunday, Aramco signed a memorandum of understanding with the southern Chinese province of Guangdong to explore associations in sectors that include finance, energy, research, and innovations.

Guangdong, a coastal province in south China, has drawn global institutions like Exxon Mobil and BASF, each of which constructs large-scale petrochemical complexes that also produce high-value chemicals.

Later in March, Saudi Aramco broke a record with a $7 billion project to produce petro-chemicals from crude oil at its South Korean compliance company S-Oil Corp’s rectifying complex in the port city of Ulsan.