RIYADH - (Xinhua) The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) and the Chinese Petroleum and Chemical Company (Sinopec) signed today (Wednesday) a memorandum of understanding covering several areas of possible cooperation between the two parties in the Kingdom.

The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) stated that the memorandum of understanding aims to define paths of strategic cooperation between the two sides in the Kingdom, and to build a long-term relationship between the two companies and their existing joint ventures in China and the Kingdom.

Areas of cooperation will include evaluating opportunities for integration in refining, petrochemicals, engineering, procurement and construction, oil field services, upstream technologies, refining, processing and marketing, as well as cooperation in carbon capture and hydrogen operations.

Under the MoU, the two companies will explore opportunities to establish a local manufacturing center in King Salman Energy Park.

The memorandum of understanding comes based on previous cooperation that included the establishment of the Fujian Refining and Petrochemical Company, Sinopec Senmei (Fujian) in China, and Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company (YASREF) in the Kingdom.

Mohammed Yahya Al-Qahtani, Senior Vice President for Refining, Processing and Marketing at Saudi Aramco, said that the memorandum will strengthen the strategic relationship between the two parties.

In turn, Sinopec Chairman Yu Baocai affirmed that the memorandum comes within the framework of a new beginning of the partnership in the Kingdom to achieve further progress in the Belt and Road Initiative and Vision 2030.