April 29, 2019 [Houston Chronicle] – As Saudi Aramco expands its refining capacity across the globe, the Saudi state-owned oil company is buying out Shell’s 50 percent share of a joint venture oil refinery in Saudi Arabia for $631 million, the companies announced over the weekend.

 
The 50-50 joint venture operates a 305,000 barrel a day refinery in Jubail Industrial City that produces liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), naphtha, kerosene, diesel, fuel oil and sulfur.

Abdulaziz Al-Judaimi, Saudi Aramco’s Senior Vice President of Downstream, said the refinery “will continue to be a critical facility in our refining and chemicals business and we look forward to further optimizing its performance and long term viability.”

The sale comes as Saudi Aramco looks to grow the complexity and capacity of its refining and petrochemical divisions. Last month the company announced it is buying a majority stake in the Saudi petrochemical giant SABIC in a $69.1 billion deal.

SABIC is in the process of developing a major $8 billion petrochemical complex in partnership with Exxon near Corpus Christi. Saudi Aramco also owns Motiva Enterprises, which is evaluating a major proposed petrochemical project on the Gulf Coast.

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