Saudi Aramco looks at Hengli Petrochemical stake

Saudi Aramco is in discussions with Hengli Group to buy a 10% stake in Hengli Petrochemical, one of China’s largest chemical makers. It was number 11 among C&EN’s Global Top 50 chemical firms last year with $31.1 billion in chemical sales. Hengli opened a 400,000-barrel-per-day refining and petrochemical complex in Dalian, China, in 2019. Its core business is polyester and raw materials such as purified terephthalic acid, but it also makes other aromatic derivatives as well as olefins. In recent years, Aramco has been seeking to buy stakes in large Chinese chemical makers in deals tied to crude oil supply agreements. Last year, it bought a 10% stake in Rongsheng Petrochemical, another large Chinese chemical maker, for $3.4 billion. Rongsheng controls the massive Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical complex. Aramco also said it is pursuing deals with Shandong Yulong Petrochemical and Jiangsu Shenghong Petrochemical Industry Group.