Saudi Aramco, one of the leading oil and gas companies, has announced that it is expanding its operation through the acquisition of a 10% stake in China’s Rongsheng Petrochemical.

The investment is valued at $3.6bn and is poised to deepen Aramco’s activities in the downstream sector globally.

According to Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani, Aramco Executive Vice President of Downstream “The announcement demonstrates Aramco’s long-term commitment to China and belief in the fundamentals of the Chinese Petrochemical sector. It is an important acquisition for Aramco in a key market, supporting our growth ambitions and advancing our liquids to chemical strategy.”

In his remarks the Chairman of Rongsheng Li Shuirong said “This strategic co-operation will take our long-term friendship and mutual trust to a new level and paves the way for a bright future for the high-quality development of the world’s petrochemical industry. I believe that Aramco’s involvement will greatly help Rongsheng implement its petrochemical growth strategy.”

The partnership with Rongsheng and the HAPCO joint venture will scale Aramco’s supply to a total of 690,000bpd of crude to high chemical conversion assets.

Saudi Aramco last year was ranked by Forbes Global 2000 as the third-largest public company in the world.

It operates the world’s largest single hydrocarbon network, the Master Gas system. Aramco also manages over 100 oil and gas fields in Saudi Arabia, including 288.4trn standard cubic feet of natural gas reserves.

The company also operates the world’s largest onshore oil field Ghawar Field and the world’s largest offshore oil field Safaniya Field.