Saudi Aramco plans to become world's top refiner

Saudi Arabia’s national oil company, Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil exporter, seeks to become the largest producer of refined petroleum products, according to CEO Khalid al-Falih.
At a conference in Beijing, China, al-Falih stated that Saudi Aramco plans to become the world’s single largest oil refiner within the next few years. According to al-Falih, Saudi Aramco aims to increase its global refining capacity to 8 million barrels per day (bpd) in 10 years. This compares to ExxonMobil’s 5.4 million bpd crude processing capacity by the end of 2012, currently the largest processor worldwide.
Saudi Aramco seeks to expand refining and petrochemical production to meet Saudi Arabia’s domestic demand and export products that can fetch higher prices than crude internationally.
In the short term, Saudi Aramco seeks to turn its Satorp plant in Jubail, where the French company Total SA holds a 37.5% stake, into the kingdom’s largest refinery on the Persian Gulf when it starts processing 400,000 bpd of Arab heavy crude this year. In addition, Saudi Aramco has finalized negotiations with Indonesia’s PT Pertamina Persero to build an US$8 billion refinery in Indonesia with a capacity of 300,000 bpd.
 
(March 26, 2013)