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  • Saudi Aramco Opens its Books, Officially the World’s Most Profitable Company
     

    State-owned Saudi Aramco is the world’s most profitable firm, eclipsing global heavyweights like Apple and Samsung, according to new data revealed ahead of a major bond issuance. Saudi Aramco’s earnings last year before interests, taxes, and depreciation stands at $224 billion, almost three times as much as Apple. Net income last year was $111.1 billion. The revelation of […]

     
  • Saudi Aramco Agrees to Buy 70% Stake in SABIC from Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund
     

    Saudi Arabia’s national oil company Saudi Aramco has agreed to buy a 70% stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), the kingdom’s leading petrochemical firm, for $69.1 billion in a private transaction, SABIC said in a press release. The move continues Saudi Aramco’s plans to diversify away from oil to “generating more of its profits […]

     
  • Large Quantities of Natural Gas Discovered in Red Sea, Al-Falih Says
     

    Large quantities of gas have been discovered in the Red Sea, the official Saudi Press Agency said, citing comments made by Minister of Energy Khalid Al-Falih. Al-Falih said that Saudi Aramco will intensify exploration work over the next two years after completion of a feasibility study. Falih also said Saudi Aramco was studying possible Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) project […]

     
  • Al-Falih: ‘Going forward the world is going to be Saudi Aramco’s playground’
     

    In a new interview with the Financial Times, Saudi Arabia’s powerful minister of energy, industry, and mineral resources Khalid Al-Falih indicated that Saudi Aramco would take on an active position as investor in resource opportunities outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s state-owned energy company, Saudi Aramco, will seek to develop an international energy […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia Explores Interconnected Gas Grid for Region
     

    Saudi Arabia may pursue an interconnected natural gas grid in the region that would link together the Kingdom with Oman, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, according to reports. “I am talking to my colleagues in Oman, Kuwait, UAE, about extending a gas grid in the region and we hope to exchange gas and we also have […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia Eyes Major Domestic Energy Conservation by 2030, Al Falih Says
     

    Saudi Arabia expects to throttle back domestic energy consumption by 2030 by up to the equivalent of 2m barrels of oil per day, in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic and social reform initiative, according to comments made by Khalid Al-Falih published by Reuters. Saudi Arabia has long used easily extracted oil reserves for […]

     
  • Saudi Oil Reserves Are Even Bigger than Previously Estimated
     

    An independent audit of Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves found that the Kingdom has more oil than previously estimated, according to reports and an official statement from the government of Saudi Arabia. The audit, conducted by Houston-based petroleum consultants DeGolyer & MacNaughton, had concluded that Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves total 268.5 billion barrels – over 2.2 […]

     
  • Reports: Potential Deal for New Saudi Investment in U.S. Energy Sector
     

    Saudi Arabia is reportedly eyeing an investment in U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) in what would mark a “sea change in the energy flows between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia,” the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday citing unnamed sources. The WSJ reports the “landmark decision” would mark a shift for Saudi Arabia, which in the past has been an energy […]

     
  • King Salman Announces ‘Sweeping’ Cabinet Reshuffle Affecting Top Domestic, Foreign Policy Posts
     

    King Salman announced on live TV on Thursday a major and sweeping reshuffling of top cabinet positions in Saudi Arabia, the first such change in leadership since June. The royal decree replaces Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir with former finance minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf. Al-Assaf was detained, then released within weeks of his detention at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton […]

     
  • In Dhahran, Energy Secretary Perry, Al-Falih Discuss Oil Markets, Nuclear Possibilities
     

    U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry held a round of talks with Saudi Minister of Energy Khalid Al-Falih and Aramco CEO Amin Nasser as well other energy industry figures in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, according to reports. The top energy officials from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia discussed oil markets and nuclear power possibilities. Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid al-Falih […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Fitch Affirms Saudi Aramco at ‘A+’; Outlook Stable

    Fitch Ratings has affirmed Saudi Arabian Oil Company's (Saudi Aramco) Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at 'A+' with Stable Outlook. Saudi Aramco's ratings are constrained at those of its majority shareholder Saudi Arabia (A+/Stable), given the close links between the company and the sovereign. We assess Saudi Aramco's Standalone Credit Profile (SCP) at 'aa+'. Saudi Aramco's Short-Term IDR of 'F1+' is equalised with that of the sovereign.

  • Saudi Aramco expands into LNG by buying stake worth $500m in MidOcean Energy

    Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil-exporting company, has signed agreements to acquire a minority stake in liquefied natural gas company MidOcean Energy for $500 million in line with the global energy transition. The agreement with MidOcean Energy marks Aramco’s first international investment in LNG, the company said in a statement on Thursday. MidOcean Energy, which is managed by energy-focused institutional investor EIG, is currently in the process of acquiring interests in four Australian LNG projects. "We anticipate strong demand-led growth for LNG as the world continues on its energy transition journey, with gas being a vital fuel and feedstock in various industries," said Amin Nasser, Aramco president and chief executive. "We believe that gas will be important in meeting the world’s rising need for secure, accessible and more sustainable energy.”

  • Saudi Aramco in talks to acquire 10% stake in Chinese refiner Shenghong

    Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil exporting company, has begun preliminary discussions with Jiangsu Eastern Shenghong, to acquire a 10 per cent equity stake in the China-based energy company's petrochemical subsidiary. As per the co-operation framework agreement signed between the two companies, Aramco “intends to become a strategic investor in Jiangsu Shenghong Petrochemical Industry Group”, it said on Wednesday, referring to the subsidiary. The possible acquisition of a minority stake is however “subject to due diligence and required regulatory clearances”, Aramco said.

  • Saudi Aramco’s venture capital arm leads $52m round for US firm Mighty Buildings

    Oakland, California-headquartered Mighty Buildings applies 3D-printing construction technology to make prefabricated, environmentally friendly and climate-resilient homes. Using its patented Lumus material, which the company says is five times stronger than concrete, it creates structures that can resist events including hurricanes and earthquakes.

  • Saudi Aramco’s venture capital arm leads $52m round for US firm Mighty Buildings

    Mighty Buildings, a 3D-printing construction technology firm, has raised $52 million in funding co-led by Saudi Aramco's venture capital arm Wa'ed Ventures and by BOLD Capital Partners, a US-focused firm. Existing investor Khosla Ventures and new investor KB-Badgers, a South Korean firm investing from its sustainability-focused fund, were among almost 20 investors in the round, Wa'ed Ventures said in a statement on Tuesday.

  • Saudi Aramco to supply full oil volumes to N.Asia refiners – sources

    Saudi Aramco has notified at least five North Asian buyers that it will supply full contractual volumes of crude oil in October, sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday, despite extended voluntary output cuts pledged by the Kingdom. The world's top oil exporter last week said it would prolong the 1 million barrels per day (bpd) unilateral cut to the end of the year, driving up benchmark Brent crude above $90 a barrel for the first time this year.

  • Saudi Aramco awards major EPC contracts for $10bn Jafurah expansion project

    Jafurah represents the largest shale gas reserve in the Middle East, notable for its high content of liquid resources, including condensates and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL). Beneath the Jafurah basin, there is an estimated 200 trillion standard cubic feet (scf) of natural gas, a valuable resource that holds the potential to contribute to emissions reduction efforts and serve as a critical feedstock for the production of lower-carbon future fuels.

  • New Aramco Dividend Policy Boosts Saudi Arabia’s Fiscal Headroom

    A performance dividend introduced by the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco, A+/Stable) will create additional fiscal space for the sovereign, but the dividend’s overall effect will also depend on how the government adjusts spending in response, says Fitch Ratings. We believe the budget could become less resilient to oil price shocks if government revenue and spending become more reliant on the performance dividend.

  • Saudi Aramco considers selling $50 billion in shares

    Saudi Aramco is considering selling a stake worth as much as $50 billion through a secondary share offering on the Riyadh bourse after consultations with advisers, the Wall Street Journal reported. The sale could happen before the end of the year, the report said, adding that Aramco has been “sounding out” potential investors, such as other multinational oil companies and sovereign-wealth funds, about participating in the deal.

  • Saudi Arabia: UN experts challenge oil giant Aramco over risks to climate change goals

    According to the letter, the experts are concerned over the company's expansion of fossil fuel production, which they say could threaten human rights if continued. The letter was sent to the company's chief executive, Amin Nasser, on 26 August, and says that Aramco's activities have negative consequences on the rights to a healthy environment. Aramco has previously said it aims to achieve zero net emissions from its operations by 2050. However, the experts say that the organisation's activities could be undermining the 2015 Paris Agreement, which set a target of limiting the world to a temperature increase of 1.5C.