China’s Great Wall Drilling Company has announced plans to open a bramch office in Saudi Arabia in order to participate in future oil and gas excavation projects in the Kingdom, reported Al-Watan. A company representative said that the necessary procedures to obtain an investment permit from the Saudi Investment General Authority are in their beginning stages.
The drilling company also has plans to invest up to five million Saudi riyals ($1.3 million) in oil and gas excavation projects in Saudi Arabia, particularly projects launched by Aramco and other international petroleum companies.
Saudi Aramco is one of China's major crude oil suppliers. China has been a net importer of oil since 1993 and in 2000, foreign oil accounted for about 22 percent of the country's total domestic consumption. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
