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Aramco is in talks to acquire a 10% stake in China’s Hengli Petrochemical, according to a statement by the oil giant yesterday. It signed an MoU with parent Hengli Group to explore the potential acquisition, which is subject to due diligence and regulatory approvals. No financial details or timeline on the proposed transaction was provided, but the minority stake could be valued at USD 1.5 bn based on the Chinese refiner’s current share price.
The rationale: Aramco wants to expand its downstream expansion strategy in “key high-value markets, advance its liquids-to-chemicals program, and secure long-term crude oil supply agreements,” according to the statement.
About Hengli Petrochemical: The company owns and operates a number of oil production facilities across several Chinese provinces, including a 400k bpd refinery and petrochemicals complex in Liaoning.
Aramco has been banking on Chinese refineries for some time: The state-owned oil company signed a MoU earlier this year with Chinese privately-owned refiner Rongsheng Petrochemical to explore the possibility of buying stakes in each other’s units. The MoU came months after Aramco closed in last year the acquisition of a 10% stake in Rongsheng Petrochemical for USD 3.4 bn through its Netherlands-based subsidiary, Aramco Overseas Company.
And more: Aramco said last year that it aims to become a strategic investor in Jiangsu Shenghong Petrochemical through a possible 10% stake in the refiner which owns and operates a 320k bpd integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex. The interest in Jiangsu Shenghong came weeks after it signed a MoU with Shandong Yulong Petrochemical to discuss a potential 10% stake acquisition in the refiner which processes c. 400k bpd of crude oil.
Taking Beijing’s side: The growing commercial ties between Aramco and China sent the oil company’s CEO Amin Nasser taking Beijing’s side against accusations that China is dumping low-cost solar panels and EVs on Europe, Financial Times reported.
What Nasser said: “China really helped by reducing the cost of solar energy,” he said during the World Energy Congress in Rotterdam. “A lot of what happened in solar panels is because of what China did in terms of reducing [prices]. We can see the same now in electric vehicles. Their cost is one-third to one-half the cost of other electric vehicles. So we need globalization and collaboration if we are going to achieve our energy targets by 2050.”
