Page 5 - FSUOGM Week 03 2022

FSUOGM COMMENTARY FSUOGM

The Gdansk oil refinery.

its “presence in the European downstream sec- and the nearby petchem complex and storing oil
tor and further expand its crude imports into at a new facility nearby.
Poland, which aligns with PKN Orlen’s strategy
of diversifying its energy supplies”. Global footprint
The two companies also signed an MoU to The series of arrangements and potential
explore potential research and development deals support Aramco’s downstream strategy
opportunities and another with Aramco petro- of expanding its global refining footprint to
chemical subsidiary Saudi Basic Industries Corp. 8-10mn bpd, which while receiving less atten-
(SABIC) to find collaborative opportunities in tion in recent years, remains key to the compa-
Central and Eastern Europe. ny’s future.
Mohammed Al Qahtani, Aramco’s senior While Aramco’s refining business has grown
VP of downstream, said: “These acquisitions from strength to strength, the key focus of this
will support the diversification of Aramco’s aim is to increase dedicated outlets for the King-
product portfolio across the hydrocarbon value dom’s oil.
chain – including a focus on liquids-to-chemi- At year-end 2020, it had a gross refining
cals pathways. Our expanding global network capacity of 6.28mn bpd and a net capacity of
of refineries and chemical joint ventures allows 3.14mn bpd, with these figures rising to 6.33mn
us to reach new markets with our products, and bpd and 3.19mn bpd during 2021.
strategically place crude oil volumes across dif- The eventual completion of commissioning
ferent geographies.” of Jazan’ on the Red Sea coast will add a further
150,000 bpd and work is ongoing to finally com-
ATC deal mission the troubled 300,000 bpd Pengerang
Also this week, Aramco Trading Co. (ATC) Petrochemical Co. (PRefChem) facility in
signed an agreement with Germany’s Klesch Malaysia in which Aramco holds a 50% stake.
Group for the exclusive supply of 110,000 bpd of Despite the apparent collapse in November of
crude oil feedstock for its Kalundborg Refinery talks to acquire a 20% stake in Indian firm Reli-
Denmark. ance’s spun-off oil-to-chemicals (O2C) division
The agreement follows Klesch’s late 2021 and its 1.82mn bpd refining slate, Aramco signed
acquisition of Equinor Refining in Denmark, preliminary deals for supplies and collaboration
whose assets include the refinery, terminals in with fellow Indian company Oil and Natural
Zealand and near Copenhagen and associated Gas Corporation (ONGC) and its 300,000 bpd
infrastructure. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd
According to ATC, the deal will provide (MRPL).
“opportunity for Arabian crude placement and While details remain to be ironed out, these
third-party crude and condensate and with a agreements could give Aramco access to a gross
provision for refined products offtake”. refining capacity of more than 7.5mn bpd across
The trader has been ramping up operations Saudi and eight other countries and a net capac-
over the past year and in December, signed a ity of around 3.55mn bpd as well as opening up
non-binding agreement with Oman’s OQ to significant new global opportunities for crude
explore the potential for providing feedstock for placement as it leverages world-leading oil flows
the Sultanate’s new 230,000 bpd Duqm refinery and growing trading expertise. ™

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