Gulf NOCs bank on chemical cure
The current oil market slump validates the increasing focus of the Gulf’s main upstream producers on petrochemicals
Saudi Aramco’s acquisition of Saudi Arabian petrochemicals champion Sabic in mid-June was the culmination of a drive by major Gulf NOCs, underway for well over a decade, to build an international downstream presence. Initially, their focus was on refining—with Aramco, Kuwait’s KPC and Qatar Petroleum (QP) all now owning overseas refining capacity, overwhelmingly concentrated in fast-growing Asian economies. In the last five years, their global expansion has both stepped up a gear and shifted in focus—based on a consensus view that petchems will replace the transport sector as the primary source of incremental crude consumption by the next decade. Aramco’s on-schedule completion of the Sabic
Also in this section
24 April 2024
But even planned exploration activity is unlikely to reverse declining output from mature fields
23 April 2024
Cheaper Russian barrels and lower overall crude prices have helped cut key oil consumer’s import bills in election year
22 April 2024
Pursuing three different goals as part of the same package may mean achieving none of them
22 April 2024
Beijing’s renewed targeting of NOC management could threaten investment