MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco will acquire Royal Dutch Shell’s 50 percent stake in the Saudi refining joint venture SASREF for USD631 million, reported Reuters with reference to the two companies.
The purchase, which is part of Aramco’s strategy to expand its downstream operations, will be completed later this year, they said in a joint statement.
Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Co (SASREF), based in Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia, has a crude oil refining capacity of 305,000 barrels per day (bpd).
"Saudi Aramco will take full ownership and integrate the refinery into its growing downstream portfolio. SASREF will continue to be a critical facility in our refining and chemicals business," Abdulaziz al-Judaimi, Aramco’s senior vice president of downstream, said in the statement.
Aramco aims to become a global leader in chemicals and the world’s largest integrated energy firm, with plans to expand its refining operations and petrochemical output.
For Shell, "the sale is part of an ongoing effort to focus its refining portfolio, integrating with Shell trading hubs and chemicals," the company said.
Shell has sold over USD30 billion of assets in recent years as it shifts its focus to lower carbon businesses such as natural gas and petrochemicals.
As MRC wrote before, in October 2018, state oil giant Saudi Aramco signed an agreement to invest in a refinery-petrochemical project in eastern China, part of its strategy to expand in downstream operations globally. Zhejiang Petrochemical, 51 percent owned by textile giant Zhejiang Rongsheng Holding Group, is building a 400,000-barrels-per-day refinery and associated petrochemical facilities that was expected to start operations by the end of last year.
Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco"s value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
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