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China's Sinopec Corp said on Tuesday it has not yet entered formal discussions with Saudi Aramco over investing in the giant Yanbu refinery in Saudi Arabia, due to concerns about the high investment cost there.
"A 400,000 bpd (barrels per day) refinery costs around 30 billion yuan ($4.4 billion) in China, but would require 50 billion yuan investment in Saudi Arabia. We are concerned about the returns on investment," Sinopec Corp Chairman Su Shulin told reporters.
"We are monitoring the projet, but have not entered formal talks."
Aramco has approached firms that could replace Conocophillips as partners for the project after the US firm's decision last month to pull out.
The Saudi oil giant was also likely to go ahead by itself if it failed to find a new partner, industry sources have said.
Aramco holds a 25-percent stake in the 240,000 bpd Fujian refinery in the eastern coastal province of Fujian, a joint venture with Sinopec Corp and Exxon Mobil
Saudi supplies just over 20 percent of China's crude imports.