Aramco and ADNOC diverge on big petchems bet

The NOCs are both looking to take advantage of the petrochemicals boom, with the Saudi firm snapping up stakes in Asian JVs tied to offtake agreements and its Emirati counterpart striking big M&A deals

Saudi Arabian NOC Aramco and its Emirati counterpart, ADNOC, are aggressively pursuing strategies to boost petrochemicals investments locally and globally, but they differ as to how to achieve their goals. Although Aramco kicked off its petrochemicals growth journey in 2019 by paying $69b to acquire 70% of fellow Saudi firm SABIC, it has since focused on buying stakes in integrated refinery and petrochemicals complexes, mainly in Asia. Simultaneously, Aramco is expanding its local output in its joint ventures (JVs) with IOCs and has invited some of its Chinese partners to be involved in potential joint domestic investments. “Aramco's strategy of domestic and international JVs with IOCs and s