Aramco says to boost refining capacity by 50%

Saudi Arabia's state oil giant Aramco will raise its refining capacity by 50 percent to above six million barrels a day by expanding at home and abroad, chief executive Khalid al Falih said. Work was progressing on two new refineries in the kingdom, he told a meeting in Seoul on Tuesday. Four "grassroots" refineries were being considered including one at Jaizan in Saudi Arabia, plus possible joint-venture refinery projects in China, Vietnam and Indonesia, the CEO said. Refining capacity would "soon" surpass the current four million barrels per day, he said, without giving a timeframe for this or the six million barrel figure. Aramco will spend $125 billion on domestic and overseas projects over the next five years, al Falih said. The investment will be focused not only on new crude oil increments but on the natural gas and petrochemical sectors, Yonhap news agency quoted him as saying. "Saudi Aramco isn't just about petroleum production," al Falih said. "We are also one of the world's largest producers of natural gas, a major player in refining, and we are quickly ramping up our petrochemical activities." Aramco's production capacity for natural gas would exceed 14 billion standard cubic feet per day in the next five years, al Falih said. Aramco's senior executives are in South Korea to attend a company board meeting. The Saudi firm is the biggest stakeholder in South Korea's third largest refiner S-Oil with 35 percent.