Aramco has superior its strategic downstream enlargement with the acquisition of an extra 22.5 per cent stake in Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Firm (Petro Rabigh) from Sumitomo Chemical Company (Sumitomo) for $702m (SR7 per share).
Following the transaction, Aramco turns into Petro Rabigh’s largest shareholder with an fairness stake of roughly 60 per cent, whereas Sumitomo retains 15 per cent.
Aramco mentioned the transaction displays its dedication to companions and associates because it continues a downstream technique centered on worth creation, enterprise integration and portfolio diversification.
Aramco downstream technique
The corporate famous that the deal additionally enhances its means to assist the transformation programme underway at Petro Rabigh, which incorporates focused asset upgrades to enhance the yield of high-margin merchandise and improve plant reliability.
Hussain Al Qahtani, Aramco Senior Vice President of Fuels, mentioned: “Petro Rabigh is a key participant within the Kingdom’s downstream sector and this extra funding by Aramco displays sturdy perception in its long-term prospects.
“It additionally underscores Aramco’s deal with downstream enlargement and worth creation. We stay up for exploring nearer integration with Petro Rabigh, with the purpose of unlocking new alternatives and complementing Petro Rabigh’s broader transformation goals, which embrace upgrading its product combine, enhancing asset reliability and optimising operations.”
Capital injection
As a part of the transaction, first introduced in August 2024, Aramco and Sumitomo agreed to inject $1.4bn to partially prepay Petro Rabigh’s debt, supporting its future progress alternatives and strengthening its steadiness sheet.
This injection will contain the issuance by Petro Rabigh of Class B shares, which shall be absolutely subscribed to by Aramco and Sumitomo.
By means of the Class B share issuance, the companions can inject contemporary capital with out altering Petro Rabigh’s current governance construction or diluting the voting energy of different shareholders.
Aramco and Sumitomo have additionally waived a complete of $1.5bn in shareholder loans to Petro Rabigh (accomplished in two phases in August 2024 and January 2025), bettering its capital construction and partially remediating accrued losses.
Strategic significance
The transaction reinforces Aramco’s long-term goal to broaden its downstream and chemical compounds portfolio, strengthening integration throughout refining, petrochemical, and advertising and marketing operations inside the Kingdom.
By growing its stake and supporting Petro Rabigh’s monetary restructuring, Aramco positions itself to seize larger worth from high-margin merchandise whereas advancing Saudi Arabia’s broader industrial diversification targets underneath Imaginative and prescient 2030.
