The world's largest crude oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, continues to be on the lookout for acquisition opportunities in the downstream and LNG, a senior executive told Reuters in an interview.
In recent years, the Saudi oil giant has been pursuing deals to expand its international downstream presence, especially in demand centers such as Asia.
Despite the fact that Aramco has boosted cooperation with automotive groups to produce alternative fuels, the Saudi firm is not done with M&As in global refining and LNG, seeking additional outlets for its crude and an expanded presence in the international LNG trading market.
"The downstream business is where we have M&A opportunities and now LNG (liquefied natural gas) as well," Yasser Mufti, Aramco's Executive Vice President for Products and Customers, told Reuters.
"We have targets and markets and we work with these opportunities as they come," the executive added.
At the same time, the Saudi giant doesn't plan to increase the 10% stake it has just bought in the new company HORSE Powertrain Limited, which was established by Renault Group and Geely, Mufti said.
Aramco signed the agreement to buy the 10% stake in July, saying that the investment will "contribute to the development of competitive powertrains and synthetic fuel solutions."
Last year, Saudi Aramco entered Pakistan's downstream market by acquiring a 40% stake in Gas & Oil Pakistan Ltd, one of the country's largest retail and storage companies, as the oil giant seeks international downstream expansion and Saudi Arabia looks to invest more in its ally Pakistan.
Earlier in 2023, Aramco announced two major refinery and petrochemical deals in China, which not only give the world's largest oil firm a share of the Chinese downstream market but also an additional export outlet for 690,000 bpd of Saudi crude in China.
This year, Aramco entered into discussions with Hengli Group Co., Ltd. regarding the potential acquisition of a 10% stake in Hengli Petrochemical Co.
Aramco also signed a non-binding agreement to buy LNG from Sempra's Port Arthur LNG project and potentially acquire 25% in the project's Phase 2.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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