Saudi Aramco to expand in refining and petrochemicals

12-May-15

Saudi Arabian Oil Co. plans to spend US$70-80 bln on overseas acquisitions and investments during the next five years, as per sources in Bloomberg. The investment is part of the state-owned company’s target of spending US$150 bln at home and internationally through 2019, to focus on Asia, particularly China and Korea. Saudi Aramco is expanding in refining and petrochemicals and seeking to boost ties with Asia as part of its ambition to become both the world’s largest oil and chemicals producer by the end of the decade. Last year, it bought a US$2 billion stake in S-Oil Corp., South Korea’s third-largest oil refiner. The company has joint-venture plants in China, owns stakes in refining businesses in South Korea, Japan and the U.S. and markets its crude and refined products globally. Aramco secured a $10 billion loan in March that could be used to fund potential acquisitions, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg at the time.