Huajin Aramco Petrochemical, a joint venture of Saudi Aramco (30%), NORINCO (51%) and Panjin Xincheng Industrial (19%), is set to enter concentrated startup of multiple production units in the fourth quarter of 2026 at its integrated refining-petrochemical complex in Panjin, Liaoning province, it is reported. The complex reportedly shipped its first China VIB-standard gasoline and diesel in late August, with benzene, paraxylene and ethylene glycol supply to downstream customers set to begin in mid-October.
The complex integrates a 300,000-barrel-per-day refinery with a 1.65-million-tonne-per-year ethylene unit and a 2-million-t/y paraxylene (PX) unit. Mechanical completion of 32 major production units was reportedly achieved on December 25, 2025, followed by completion of twelve 150,000-cubic-meter external floating-roof storage tanks in July 2026 and the successful first-stage startup of five 630-t/h boilers in early August, bringing the complex’s shared utilities — water treatment, power, steam and compressed air — into full operation.
Total investment is reported at approximately 83.7 billion yuan. The first batch of China VIB-standard gasoline and diesel was shipped in late August 2026, with benzene, PX and ethylene glycol supply to nearby downstream petrochemical companies such as Hengli and Rongsheng scheduled to begin in mid-October. Full operation of the complex is reportedly targeted by year-end.
The project is a flagship example of Saudi Aramco’s downstream joint-venture investment in China, reflecting aligned interests between Aramco’s goal of securing stable crude outlets and China’s goal of expanding domestic refining and petrochemical capacity.
Amid Saudi Aramco’s ongoing expansion of equity stakes in refining and petrochemical joint ventures in China, the Huajin Aramco Panjin complex stands out as a flagship example. The so-called “vertical integration” strategy, in which crude-producing nations invest directly in consuming countries’ downstream assets to secure long-term crude outlets, is spreading among Middle East oil producers, a variable that could affect the structure of global crude trade going forward. Integrating refining with ethylene and PX production into a single complex can reduce feedstock transport and utility costs, a design approach widely adopted in recent large Chinese petrochemical greenfield projects, and this complex follows that trend. The structure in which intermediate products such as benzene, PX and ethylene glycol are supplied to established large petrochemical companies like Hengli and Rongsheng nearby shows that the Liaoning region is attracting additional investment based on an already-formed petrochemical cluster ecosystem. This case, in which large utility facilities (boilers, storage tanks) are completed first before production units come online sequentially, also serves as a reference example of the typical phased startup procedure for ultra-large integrated complexes.
Whether the concentrated Q4 startup proceeds as planned and reaches the year-end full-operation target is the most important next milestone. The actual utilization rate and profitability the complex achieves once fully operational, and whether Aramco will pursue further downstream investment in China, are also worth watching. Whether the benzene, PX and ethylene glycol supply scheduled for mid-October begins on schedule, and how this volume affects the Liaoning region’s petrochemical supply chain, also need to be confirmed.