Saudi Aramco began talks with banks for a loan of approximately $10B to help finance their plan to acquire a 70% stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC).
“As Aramco seeks greater diversification, there is a business logic in its wanting to benefit from SABIC’s experience and technologies in chemicals. The merger announcement also comes at a time when Aramco is greatly expanding its own chemical and refining downstream operations.”
Jean-François Seznec, senior fellow with the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center
This deal is in line with Saudi Aramco’s goal of increasing its oil refining capacity to 8-10 million barrels a day by 2030.