USD1 billion IPO in the works for Saudi Aramco Base Oil Co.?

Saudi Aramco Base Oil Co., also known as Luberef, is reportedly planning an initial public offering (IPO) that could raise more than USD1 billion, according to media outlet Bloomberg. The local unit of HSBC Holdings Plc and SNB Capital have been appointed to advise on the offering, the report said.

Aramco declined to comment on the report.

Luberef is a joint venture between Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco and Jadwa Industrial Investment Group. Luberef owns and operates two base oil refineries in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The first refinery was established in Jeddah in1978 and the second one in Yanbu Industrial City in 1997. The Jeddah refinery was designed at 270,000 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) while the Yanbu refinery was designed at 280,000 MTPA. Initially both produced Group I base oils.

In 2017, Luberef expanded its Yanbu refinery to produce Group II base oils. The expansion, which cost USD1 billion, added 600,000 MTPA of Group II base oil capacity, raising its total production capacity to just over 1.2 million metric tonnes per annum.

Jadwa Industrial Investment Group, which owns a 30% stake in Luberef, is reportedly planning to sell its stake. Jadwa Industrial Investment Group became the first domestic firm to participate in a joint venture with Saudi Aramco in 2007, when ExxonMobil exited its Luberef joint venture. State-owned Saudi Aramco owns the remaining 70% of Luberef.

Parent company Saudi Aramco raised more than USD29.4 billion during its 2019 initial public offering. Two months ago, it was widely reported that the Saudi government, which still owns the majority of Saudi Aramco, was holding talks with advisers on another potential share sale, which could bring in more than its initial IPO, as much as USD50 billion.