Saudi Aramco and Sinopec in joint venture to build refinery on the Red Sea

Saudi Aramco will sign a deal in mid-January with China’s state-owned Sinopec Group for the construction of a 400,000 barrel per day (bpd) oil refinery in Yanbu, a major Red Sea port in the Al Madinah province of western Saudi Arabia. It is approximately 350 kilometers north of Jeddah. Under the agreement, Saudi Aramco will own a 62.5% stake in Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Co., the joint venture company that will build the refinery. Sinopec will own the remaining 37.5% in the joint venture, its first project outside of China. The refinery, which will be built near the Red Sea, will process heavy crude from Saudi Arabia’s Manifa oilfield and will have an output of 900,000 bpd in 2014. (January 10, 2012)