Aramco acquires 50% stake in Sasref refinery for $ 631 million



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The state producer will buy Shell's stake in the refining joint venture after investing last week in the South Korean oil bank, as part of its downstream pivot

The Aramco refinery in the industrial city of Jubail has a capacity of 305,000 barrels per day. Reuters
The Aramco refinery in the industrial city of Jubail has a capacity of 305,000 barrels per day. Reuters

Jennifer Gnana

Saïd Aramco has agreed to acquire the 50% stake of the main Anglo-Dutch Shell group in a Jubail refining joint venture for $ 631 million, thereby becoming the full owner of the facility.

"The partnership with Shell has provided strong performance and delivered refined products," said Abdulaziz Al Judaimi, senior vice president of Saudi Aramco, downstream, in a statement. "Saudi Aramco will fully own it and integrate the refinery into its growing downstream portfolio."

Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil exporter, has made strategic downstream changes to sell more products, particularly in Asia's growing markets. The company has sought to strengthen its downstream portfolio – which concerns the refinery and chemical segments of the energy value chain and has recently decided to acquire 70% of the capital of Sabic, the largest chemicals company in the world. region.

The Aramco-Shell transaction is expected to be finalized later this year, subject to regulatory approval. The Sasref refinery in Jubail has a production capacity of 305,000 barrels a day. Its main products are liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha, kerosene, diesel, fuel oil and sulfur.

Last week, Saudi Aramco entered into an agreement with Hyundai to acquire a 17% stake in Oilbank, one of the South Korean company's subsidiaries, in a deal valued at $ 1.25 billion.

The Saudi producer will invest through Aramco Overseas. The investment will support Aramco's crude investment strategy by enabling the creation of a dedicated Arabian Crude outlet in South Korea, one of the Middle East's largest crude oil buyers.

Last Updated: April 21, 2019 15:00

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