Saudi Aramco has acquired the trading arm of US refiner Motiva Enterprises LLC as the state-owned oil giant expands its operations in the Americas.
(Bloomberg) —
Saudi Aramco has acquired the trading arm of US refiner Motiva Enterprises LLC as the state-owned oil giant expands its operations in the Americas.
It also set up a new entity, Houston-based Aramco Trading Americas LLC, which will be the regional hub for the Saudi company’s trading arm, it said in a statement. ATA will be the sole supplier and offtaker for Motiva, which owns the biggest refinery in the US, the 630,000 barrel-a-day Port Arthur plant.
The moves are “a giant step towards executing our ambitious global growth strategy,” said Mohammed K. Al-Mulhim, chief executive of Aramco’s trading operations.
Read: Aramco Sees Oil Demand Picking Up on China and Aviation Recovery
Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, is pushing ahead with plans for an initial public offering of its energy-trading business that could value the unit at more than $30 billion, Bloomberg reported in October.
Other national oil companies in the Persian Gulf are seeking to build their trading businesses, in a shift for the firms that have traditionally stuck to a simple model of pumping crude and exporting it. Now, they’re looking to boost profits by moving into more lucrative areas of the market.
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