South Korea-based petroleum and refinery company S-Oil Corp. under ownership by Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) will develop new energy solutions with its parent company.

S-Oil and Saudi Aramco on Tuesday signs four memorandum of understanding contracts during an investment forum held at a hotel in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Under agreement, S-Oil will bring in Saudi Aramco’s competitive blue hydrogen and blue ammonia to Korea and the two parties will jointly build related infrastructure, as well as collaborate on R&D and explore new business opportunities in the sector.

The agreements were announced on the sidelines of a meeting between Korean President Moon Jae-in and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

Shares of S-Oil were trading 6.98 percent higher at 98,100 won ($82.2) by midday Wednesday.

S-Oil and Saudi Aramco also plan to promote joint R&D on hydrogen production, new technology development in hydrogen production and carbon capturing, research on carbon-neutral fuel e-Fuel, and plastic reusing technology development.

The two companies will also invest together in Korean venture firms in new energy technology and decarbonization sectors. S-Oil is expected to apply Saudi Aramco’s Thermal Crude to Chemicals technology to its second phase petrochemical investment Shaheen Project.

S-Oil has been putting out efforts to advance into hydrogen industry. Last year, the company secured a 20 percent stake in fuel energy venture firm FCI. It also joined a consortium with Samsung C&T and Korea Southern Power for a clean hydrogen project.

By Lee Eun-joo

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