Saudi Aramco is seeking to save money to preserve its shareholder dividend, according to unnamed sources, having pledged not to cut it. Other oil companies such as BP and Shell have already cut their dividends.
As a result, Saudi Aramco is reviewing its decision to buy 25% of Sempra Energy’s Port Arthur LNG terminal in Texas, and scaling back plans for its $20 billion Yanbu petrochemicals plant.
Saudi Aramco has allegedly already taken staff off the Port Arthur project, which was announced in January 2020, and as well as the 25% stake in the terminal, would have included the purchase of 5 million tpa of LNG.
All of Saudi Aramco’s major greenfield projects are reportedly under review, and it is planning to invest in existing assets instead. At Yanbu, the company will instead integrate existing refineries and build petrochemical facilities onto them.
A deal to build a $10 billion refining and petrochemicals plant in China was also suspended last month.
For more information visit www.aramco.com
