‘Aramco’s US$7b investment in Rapid still in progress’

KUALA LUMPUR: The planned US$7 billion (RM29.68 billion) investment by Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Aramco) in Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) is in progress, said Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.

He said the deal was “still on” and the parties remained in talks over the proposed investment.

He was speaking on the sidelines of SCxSC Digital Finance Conference 2017, here, yesterday.

His comment further reaffirmed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan’s remark that Aramco was expected to finalise its investment in the project soon.

Rahman was quoted by Bernama as saying in a recent interview that the government was giving both Petronas and Aramco an opportunity to resolve several technical issues.

“There are several terms and conditions the parties have to meet and it is an ongoing process.

“I expect it would not be long before they (Aramco) begin channelling their funds for the Rapid project,” he was quoted as saying.

In February, Petronas and Aramco signed a share purchase agreement for the latter to buy a 50 per cent stake in Rapid.

The agreement saw both parties having an equal equity stake in selected ventures and assets of the venture.

The deal was made during Saudi Arabian ruler King Salman Abdulaziz Al-Saud’s visit to Malaysia. Farah Adilla