RIYADH: China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., also known as Sinopec, is interested in Saudi Arabia’s shale gas development project, according to the firm’s president Yu Baocai.
Also referred to as Al-Jufarah, the project is the largest shale gas development project outside the US, as reported by Reuters.
This development comes after the state-run oil and gas giant reported a 20 percent decline in interim earnings, Yu explained at a briefing in Hong Kong.
In March, Sinopec announced it would actively explore opportunities in Saudi Arabia, where it already owns a stake in a refinery.
At the time, Yu had made the remarks without elaboration during a press briefing after the company announced a 6.9 percent decline in net profit last year.
In February 2020, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that his ministry would enhance the economic and political security of Saudi Arabia by creating an environment in which businesses could take advantage of opportunities in the Al-Jufurah gas field.
“The project of developing the Al-Jafurah gas field is the largest booster for the energy sector in the Kingdom,” Prince Abdulaziz said at the time.
He added: “We aim to reach 90 percent of electricity production from gas and renewable energy.”
At the time, he added that the Al-Jafurah field would start production in 2023, noting that the numbers previously revealed about the field’s capacity were underestimated.
“It will enable the Kingdom to convert the current power stations from petroleum products to gas, which is a rationalization of fuel,” the minister stressed at the time.
Sinopec has always been committed to acting as an ambassador of Sino-Saudi friendship.
Four years ago, the company released its first sustainability report of Sinopec in Saudi Arabia and established the Social Responsibility Demonstration Site.
“We respect the customs and culture of Saudi Arabia, celebrate the national and traditional festivals of Saudi Arabia and China with local employees and the community, and promote cultural exchanges between our two countries,” the company said in a statement at the time.
It added: “We offer systematic, international training sessions on a long-term basis in the Kingdom, providing training for young people in the country.”
