Goldman Sachs and Citigroup will be among the leading coordinators of Saudi Aramco’s IPO, expected later this year, international media reported on Monday.

Saudi Aramco eyes new high

RIYADH, July 7, 2017 – Saudi Aramco’s oil production rose from 10.2 million bopd in 2015 to 10.5 million bopd in 2016, the company said in its latest annual report released on Thursday.

Aramco announced a slip in recoverable oil and condensate reserves, from 261.1 billion barrels at the end of 2015 to 260.8 billion barrels at the end of 2016. However, gas reserves climbed from 8.43 tcm (297.6 tcf) to 8.46 tcm (298.7 tcf).

Oil exports increased to 7.6 million bopd from 7.1 million bopd in 2015. Asia was the largest importer of Saudi crude, taking in 66% of total exports. The USA followed as the next largest importer, taking a 15.8% share.

As part of a shift of focus towards Saudi Arabia’s downstream sector, processing capacity of raw gas was ramped up to 340 mcm (12 bcf) per day. Chemical production capacity almost doubled, from 7.02 million tpy in 2015 to 13.3 million tpy in 2016. Methane production hit an all-time high of 235 mcm (8.3 bcf) per day. Ethane production was also raised to 26.1 mcm (920 mcf) per day from 22.5 mcm (794 mcf) in 2015.

The report stated that 40% of non-associated gas came from the Hasbah and Arabiyah fields.

In 2016, the company discovered the Jubah and Sahaban oilfields and the Hadidah gasfield, all located in the Eastern Province.

A foray into the Arctic

While Aramco is mainly focused on changing Saudi Arabia’s business landscape through the Vision 2030 initiative and the In-Kingdom Value Add programme, both designed to diversify the industry and increase localisation inside the country, the company has also been invited to participate in Russia’s latest Arctic gas project.

The Arctic LNG 2 project, headed by Russia’s Novatek, will produce 16.5 million tpy of LNG, with production from the first train expected to commence in 2022-2023. Other interested parties include France’s Total as well as Chinese and Japanese companies, although no partners have been chosen so far.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that co-operation between Saudi Arabia and Russia was at a new height.

“Saudi Aramco was offered different options of participation in Arctic LNG-2,” Novak said. “Our colleagues [in Saudi Arabia] were interested in it and have been looking at the proposals.”

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