China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. – known as Sinopec – was invited by Saudi Arabian Oil Co. – known as Saudi Aramco – to invest in the company, according to a report from Bloomberg News.
Saudi Aramco is planning to go public next year. The world’s biggest oil company is expected to get a valuation of around $2 trillion, the world’s biggest-ever IPO.
Both companies are in talks about the potential investment offer, according to Sinopec Chairman Wang Yupu. Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, during a visit to China this month, told officials that Sinopec could invest in the listing, Wang said Monday.
“We talked with them on the plan, and generally speaking we had a very good conversation,” Wang said during a briefing in Hong Kong. “Going forward, based on our own reality and needs, we will get into more detailed conversations with them.”
China Investment Corporation, an $814 billion sovereign wealth fund, and Sinopec-rival China National Petroleum Corp. may also invest in the Saudi Aramco IPO, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month.
Saudi Aramco
Talking to CNN in January, CEO Nasser said that the oil giant’s IPO is on track for 2018.
“We’re still looking at 2018 and no change in our plan to deliver in that time,” Nasser told CNN Money’s John Defterios at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Saudi Aramco claims that it has 261 billion barrels of oil in reserves, more than all of North America’s oil reserves.
“We are very comfortable with the size of our reserves and the methodology we use to calculate our reserves,” Nasser said. “We are not doubling our exploration program in preparation of the IPO.”
Saudi Aramco has the world’s largest daily oil production, pumping about 10.3 million barrels per day. It owns, operates and develops all energy resources based in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Aramco is the operator of the world’s largest single hydrocarbon network, the Master Gas System. The oil giant also operates the Ghawar Field, the world’s largest onshore oil field, and the Safaniya Field, the world’s largest offshore oil field.
Saudi Aramco owns Vela International Marine, which ships crude oil to North America, Europe, and Asia.