According to Bloomberg, Saudi Aramco is planning to buy a share in MidOcean Energy for $500 million. Reportedly, it would be the first time when the Saudi oil company invests in the production of liquefied natural gas.
Currently, Saudi Aramco is looking for ways to diversify its business beyond crude oil production, so it is seizing new opportunities.
This decision is contributed to a sharp increase in demand for energy, in particular in Europe, where countries are struggling to find alternative sources of gas and oil to replace Russian supplies. Seemingly, the European leaders see Asian countries as the most suitable alternative.
The nearest neighbor of Saudi Arabia is Qatar that possesses huge deposits of LNG and exports it. To keep the rivalry, Saudi Aramco is negotiating a deal with MidOcean Energy planning to acquire interests in four Australian LNG projects. Remarkably, MidOcean Energy is managed by EIG Global Energy Partners, a former member of a consortium that bought a 49% share in Aramco Oil Pipelines Co. in 2021.
Over the past few years, Saudi Aramco has been attempting to set up supplies of LNG to various countries. However, it has not succeeded so far. Five years ago, the Saudi oil producer was negotiating a partnership in a gas project with Russia’s Novatek.
