Aramco to Issue $10 B Bonds

Thursday, 28th March 2019
by Mai El Ghandour

Attendees walk by a sign for the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Aramco) on display inside the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture during a tour of the project in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016. When completed, the project designed for the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Aramco) will contain diverse cultural facilities, including an auditorium, cinema, library, exhibition hall, museum and archive. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Saudi Aramco is preparing a $10 billion bond issuance in early April 2019, CNBC reported, citing the Wall Street Journal.

For the world largest oil firm, the move is seen as an indicator of how well the company operates, with this set to be its first debt issuance so far.

Aramco recently decided to acquire Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) in a $69.1 billion deal, which will further boost Saudi Arabia’s economic growth and diversification.

It was previously reported that the Saudi oil giant and SABIC are building a new integrated industrial petrochemicals complex in the port city of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast. The complex is expected to have a processing capacity of 400,000 barrels per day (b/d) to produce around 9 million tons of chemicals and base oils per year. The complex is expected to be operational by 2025.

Aramco aims to increase its refining capacity from 4.9 million to reach 8-10 million barrels per day (b/d) by 2030.