Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Aramco, and China Petrochemical Corp., or Sinopec Group, reached a joint-venture agreement to open a refinery at Yanbu on the Red Sea coast, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday.

Sinopec Group will hold a 37.5% stake and Saudi Aramco will have a 62.5% stake in the joint venture, which will start operation in 2014, Xinhua said. It didn't say how much each company is investing.

Sinopec Group is Asia's biggest oil refiner by capacity and the parent of Hong Kong-listed China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (0386.HK), also known as Sinopec.

U.S. oil major ConocoPhillips (COP) last year pulled out of the Yanbu project as it decided to cut back on refining and marketing activities.

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