Page 7 - MEOG Week 41 2021
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MEOG FINANCE & INVESTMENT MEOG
Aramco considers
plan to IPO fuel arm
SAUDI ARABIA SAUDI Aramco is continuing its asset mon- Aramco service stations”.
etisation strategy, with reports suggesting it Selling a stake in the fuel business would
is once again preparing to follow the lead of mark a shift away from the lease-and-lease-back
regional competitor Abu Dhabi National Oil model applied to the deal to acquire a 49% stake
Co. (ADNOC) with the listing of a share in its in Aramco Oil Pipelines Co. (AOPC) for a dura-
fuel arm. tion of 25 years under a $12.4bn deal that grants
Sources were quoted by Bloomberg this the Saudi firm exclusive rights to use, transport
week saying that Aramco is considering selling through, operate and maintain the extensive
a stake in its retail fuels and lubricants division, network.
with shares floating on the local Tadawul stock The same model is set to be applied to a stake
exchange. of up to 49% in the anticipated Aramco Gas
In late 2017, ADNOC sold a 10% stake in its Pipelines Co. (AGPC) which covers the Master
ADNOC Distribution fuel arm and has subse- Gas System network with a total current capacity
quently sold a further 13%. of 9.6bn cubic feet (272mn cubic metres) per day.
Since it was established in 2018, Aramco’s With the stake expected to fetch $15-17bn,
retail division “has continued to grow its fuel the company is understood to have received pre-
retail presence through its affiliates, supplying liminary bids from would-be investors last week
refined products to more than 17,000 service and was this week reported to have approached
stations worldwide with 5,300 located in the banks to arrange a staple financing loan to
US, more than 5,200 in China and South Korea, offer the eventual winner. Speaking to Reuters,
6,500 in Japan and 270 service stations in Saudi sources said that the loan could be in the range
Arabia”, according to the firm’s 2020 annual of $12-14bn and would follow the blueprint of
report. the $10.5bn facility arranged by a group of banks
It added that it has finalised its “new retail including BNP Paribas, Citigroup, HSBC Hold-
brand design concept that will be used in the ings and Mizuho Financial Group for the AOPC
construction and re-branding of its first wave of deal earlier in the year.
Week 41 13•October•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P7
