Riyadh: Aramco announced today that it has advanced its strategic downstream expansion by acquiring an additional 22.5% stake in Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company (Petro Rabigh) from Sumitomo Chemical Corporation for $702 million (SAR7 per share). With this acquisition, Aramco becomes Petro Rabigh’s largest shareholder, holding approximately 60% equity, while Sumitomo retains a 15% stake.
According to Saudi Press Agency, the transaction highlights Aramco’s commitment to its partners and affiliates, supporting a downstream strategy focused on value creation, business integration, and portfolio diversification. This move enhances Aramco’s capability to aid Petro Rabigh’s ongoing transformation program, which targets asset upgrades to improve high-margin product yields and enhance plant reliability.
Aramco’s Senior Vice President of Fuels, Hussain Al Qahtani, stated that Petro Rabigh plays a crucial role in the Kingdom’s downstream sector. The additional investment underscores Aramco’s confidence in Petro Rabigh’s long-term prospects, with a focus on downstream expansion and value creation. Aramco aims to explore closer integration with Petro Rabigh to unlock new opportunities and support its broader transformation goals, such as improving its product mix, enhancing asset reliability, and optimizing operations.
The transaction, first announced in August 2024, included an agreement by Aramco and Sumitomo to inject $1.4 billion to partially prepay Petro Rabigh’s debt, thereby supporting future growth prospects and strengthening its balance sheet. This capital injection will occur through the issuance of Class B shares by Petro Rabigh, fully subscribed to by Aramco and Sumitomo, ensuring that the company’s governance structure and the voting power of other shareholders remain unaffected.
Additionally, Aramco and Sumitomo have waived $1.5 billion in shareholder loans to Petro Rabigh, completed in August 2024 and January 2025. This waiver improves Petro Rabigh’s capital structure and partially remedies its accumulated losses.
