Oil companies Saudi Aramco, Yasref and Sinopec have signed a Venture Framework Agreement (VFA) to prepare for the expansion of a petrochemical facility at the Yasref refinery in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.

The deal – primarily a collaboration between Sinopec (37.5%) and Aramco (62.5%) – is set to integrate modern petrochemical facilities at the plant, and will feature an advanced petrochemical unit, a 1.5mn tonnes per year aromatics complex with downstream derivatives, and a large-scale mixed feed steam cracker with the capacity to produce 1.8mn tonnes of product per year.

With the VFA signed, engineering studies for the fully integrated petrochemical complex can now be pushed to the next stage.

Notably, the new facility is slated to improve production capabilities and diversify output to match increasing demand for petrochemical products domestically and abroad.

CEO Amin H. Nasser of Saudi-based Aramco highlighted the increasingly close relationship with China-based Sinopec and underscored the company’s commitment to product diversification and innovation. He continued to say that Aramco aimed to “contribute to growing Saudi Arabia’s position as a global leader in energy and chemicals”.

Aramco’s downstream president Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani echoed this sentiment and said that the Yasref expansion aligned with the company’s strategy to “unlock the full potential of [Saudi Arabia’s] resources”. He added that this plan included the conversion of up to 4mn barrels of crude oil per day into petrochemicals by 2030.

Yasref is only part of multiple strategic partnerships between Aramco and Sinopec, with other ventures including Sinopec SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Co., Sinopec Senmei Petroleum Co., Fujian Refining & Petrochemical Co., and a separate integrated refining and petrochemical complex currently also under development in Fujian.

Sinopec president Zhao Dong said the Yasref expansion represented a “significant milestone in our bilateral partnership, ushering in a new phase of deeper and more far-reaching collaboration,” and concluded that both Aramco and Sinopec were poised to construct a “world-class, integrated refining and petrochemical complex”.