Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil-exporting company, has signed agreements to acquire a minority stake in liquefied natural gas company MidOcean Energy for $500 million in line with the global energy transition.
The agreement with MidOcean Energy marks Aramco’s first international investment in LNG, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
MidOcean Energy, which is managed by energy-focused institutional investor EIG, is currently in the process of acquiring interests in four Australian LNG projects.
"We anticipate strong demand-led growth for LNG as the world continues on its energy transition journey, with gas being a vital fuel and feedstock in various industries," said Amin Nasser, Aramco president and chief executive.
"We believe that gas will be important in meeting the world’s rising need for secure, accessible and more sustainable energy.”
Aramco said the agreement included an option to increase its shareholding and associated rights in MidOcean Energy in the future.
The completion of the deal will depend on regulatory approvals.
Competition for LNG has increased since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, with Europe importing record volumes of the supercooled fuel to replace Moscow's gas supplies.
Global LNG trade hit a high of $450 billion in 2022 amid a surge in European demand, according to the International Energy Agency.
The IEA warned in July that “fierce” competition for gas exports may emerge this winter on stronger-than-expected economic growth in China and colder weather in North-East Asia.
"We believe LNG has a key role to play in enabling an orderly transition that balances society’s twin goals of decarbonisation and energy security," said Blair Thomas, EIG chairman and chief executive.
“Concurrent with that, we believe the LNG industry is ripe for change and there is a role for a nimble, pure-play company like MidOcean Energy."
The Middle East is expected to spend up to $120 billion to boost natural gas production by more than 19 per cent by 2030, according to energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
The region’s natural gas output will rise to 86 billion standard cubic feet a day by the end of the decade, from 72 bcfd currently, it said in a report in May.
Aramco is looking to develop its downstream business while boosting refining capacity as it cuts dependence on crude exports alone.
It is also expanding its reach globally.
On Wednesday, Saudi Aramco said it had begun preliminary discussions with Jiangsu Eastern Shenghong to acquire a 10 per cent equity stake in the China-based energy company's petrochemical subsidiary.
Aramco would also supply crude oil and other feedstock to Jiangsu Shenghong Petrochemical Industry Group as part of the agreement.
Both companies also intend to co-operate on the development of a large expansion project.
Aramco's second-quarter net profit softened due to voluntary production cuts and lower crude prices, although the results were in line with analyst expectations.
Net profit after zakat for the three-month period to the end of June fell 38 per cent to about $30.1 billion, from its record $48.4 billion in the year-earlier period.
