(Yicai) Oct. 12 -- Saudi Arabian Oil Group is considering buying 10 percent of a large fuel and petrochemicals project in eastern China, potentially making it the third investment in the Asian country by the world’s biggest oil company this year.

Saudi Aramco yesterday penned a non-binding agreement to facilitate talks on possibly taking the minority stake in Yulong Petrochemical, the Dhahran-based firm said in a statement.

Founded in 2019, Yulong is finishing work on a refining and petrochemicals complex at Longkou, a port city in China’s eastern Shandong province. The firm, which is based in Shandong, has invested CNY149.3 billion (USD20.5 billion) in the project, which is expected to produce 40 million tons of chemical products a year.

Nanshan Group, a privately held firm in Shandong, owns 51 percent of Yulong, and state-owned Shandong Energy Group has another sizeable holding of 46 percent.

Aramco, a state-owned petroleum and natural gas giant, could potentially supply Yulong with crude oil and other feedstock, according to the agreement. The Longkou complex is designed to process around 400,000 barrels of oil a day, it said.

Last month, Aramco inked a deal with Eastern Shenghong to buy a 10 percent stake in Shenghong Petrochemical Industry Group, a unit of the Chinese refiner. In March, Aramco offered CNY24.6 billion (USD3.4 billion) for 10 percent of Rongsheng Petrochemical, a deal that completed in July.

Editor: Emmi Laine