A Saudi Aramco employee sits in the area of its stand at the Middle East Petrotech 2016, an exhibition and conference for the refining and petrochemical industries, in Manama, Bahrain, September 27, 2016. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Saudis, oil majors discuss gas investments ahead of giant IPO : Reuters

On Apr 12, 2017

YemenExtra

Saudi Arabia and international oil companies have discussed gas venture opportunities inside the kingdom and abroad as part of the top crude-exporting country’s drive to diversify investments before the listing of national energy giant Saudi Aramco.

Saudi officials explored investment opportunities with firms including BP (BP.L) and Chevron (CVX.N) to help develop its gas reserves, the world’s sixth largest, at a time of booming energy demand at home, four industry sources told Reuters.

Aramco has also looked into investing in gas ventures abroad, including with Italy’s Eni (ENI.MI), the sources said.

The development revives memories of talks between Aramco and global majors at the end of the 1990s and early 2000s, known as the Saudi gas initiative. Most of those talks collapsed as the parties disagreed over returns on investment.

This time, Aramco is gearing up for a share listing next year, aiming to get a valuation of up to $2 trillion in what could be the world’s biggest initial public offering (IPO).

Reuters

(BP.L)CVX.N ENI.MI IPO Saudi