News Post
Saudi Aramco mulls major refining acquisition in deal with China’s CNPC
By DINESH NAIR, MATTHEW MARTIN and STEFANIA BIANCHI
Bloomberg
Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil exporter, hired Deutsche Bank to advise on the potential acquisition of some marketing, retail and
refining assets from China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), according to four people with knowledge of the matter.
A deal could be worth several billion dollars, though talks are at an early stage and an agreement may not be reached, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
Saudi Aramco is expanding into
refining and
petrochemicals and seeking to boost ties with Asia as part of its strategy to become one of the world’s largest oil and chemicals companies by the end of the decade.
It’s planning to spend between $70 billion and $80 billion on overseas acquisitions and investments during the next five years, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg in May.
Last month, Aramco and Germany’s Lanxess formed a 2.75 billion euro ($3.1 billion) synthetic rubber joint venture, while last year the Saudi government owned company bought a $2 billion stake in S-Oil Corp., South Korea’s third-largest oil refiner.
CNPC’s Beijing-based spokesman Qu Guangxue didn’t answer two calls to his office seeking comment on Monday, a public holiday in China. Saudi Aramco and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.
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