ENERGY DIVERSIFICATION
Saudis discuss gas deals with oil firms
Saudi officials explore investment opportunities with firms including BP and Chevron to help develop its gas reserves
London/Dubai — Saudi Arabia and international oil companies have discussed gas venture opportunities inside the kingdom and abroad as part of the top crude-exporting country’s drive to diversify investments before the listing of the domain’s national energy giant Saudi Aramco. Saudi officials explored investment opportunities with firms including BP and Chevron to help develop its gas reserves, the world’s sixth largest, at a time of booming energy demand at home, four industry sources told Reuters. Aramco had also looked into investing in gas ventures abroad, including with Italy’s Eni, the sources said. The development revives memories of talks between Aramco and global majors at the end of the 1990s and early 2000s, known as the Saudi gas initiative. Most of those talks collapsed as the parties disagreed over returns on investment. This time, Aramco is gearing up for a share listing next year, aiming to get a valuation of up to $2-trillion in what could be the world’s biggest ini...
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