ARAMCO TO FINALISE RAPID INVESTMENT ‘SOON’
Govt giving all parties the opportunity to resolve some technical issues regarding investment, says minister
BANGKOK
SAUDI Arabian Oil Co (Aramco) is expected to finalise soon its agreed investment of US$7 billion (RM29.61 billion) in Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) Refinery & Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in Pengerang soon.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan said the government was giving both Petronas and Aramco an opportunity to resolve several technical issues regarding the investment deal.
“There are several terms and conditions that the parties have to meet. But I expect that it would not be long before they (Aramco) begin channelling their funds for the Rapid project.”
Rahman was in Bangkok to attend the 7th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable, which ended yesterday.
He met with Saudi Arabia’s Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Khalid Abdulaziz Al-Falih at the conference.
“We discussed the latest developments with regards to Aramco’s investment in Rapid.
“I find that there are no major issues to deal with, so it should be happening soon,” he said.
In February, Petronas and Aramco signed a share purchase agreement to enable the Saudi national oil and gas firm to purchase a 50 per cent stake in the Rapid project.
The agreement will see both parties having an equal equity stake in selected ventures and assets of the venture.
The deal was made during Saudi Arabia King Salman Abdulaziz Al-Saud’s visit to Malaysia.
Rahman said if the deal were to become profitable, Aramco may increase its investments in Malaysia.
Malaysia’s strategic location in Southeast Asia had attracted interest not only from Aramco but also other global oil and gas firms as well, he said.
Asked on whether the stronger bilateral ties between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia might lead to Petronas or Khazanah Nasional becoming investors in Aramco, which was planning a listing, he said it was unlikely. “I don’t think there are any special talks on Petronas or Khazanah becoming cornerstone investors in Aramco’s initial public offering,” he said.
But he said they might purchase the shares.