Saudi Aramco has suspended plans to invest $3.5bn in a 35% stake in the proposed $10bn Panjin refinery and integrated petrochemicals JV complex to be built in China’s northeastern Liaoning province.

A 21 August Bloomberg story, since widely corroborated elsewhere, said Aramco was suspending investment on the project as it slashes its overall capex plans amid an “uncertain market outlook.” Aramco announced in March that capex guidance for 2020 was being cut by nearly 30% to $25-30bn (MEES, 20 March). (CONTINUED - 285 WORDS)