
Bloomberg/Tomohiro Ohsumi
Saudi Aramco is in talks with banks to refinance $2.2 billion of debt held by its joint venture with Total, reported Bloomberg.
The state-owned oil producer is seeking to cut the borrowing cost on the loans that were used to build the Satorp refinery, the facility that converts fossil fuels into building blocks for plastics.
Saudi Arabia is seeking to transform its oil-dependent economy by developing new industries and is pushing into petrochemicals as a way to earn more from its energy deposits. Saudi Aramco and Total plan to expand the Satorp refinery with a new complex, which will be able to produce 2.7 million tonnes of chemicals annually once it comes online in about four years.
Aramco owns 62.5 per cent of Satorp, while Total holds the rest and the duo is also working on a plan to develop a local retail fuel distribution company.
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