Saudi Aramco finalizes refinery deal with Malaysia's Petronas
DUBAI, (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco finalized a deal on Wednesday with Malaysian state energy company Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) to invest in a refinery project off Malaysia.
Saudi oil giant Aramco agreed in February last year to buy a $7 billion stake in Petronas's Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project, but the issue was then delayed by "technical issues".
RAPID is a $27 billion project located between the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, conduits for Middle East oiland gas bound for China, Japan and South Korea.
The two companies said in a statement that they signed the deal on Wednesday but did not confirm the value of Aramco's investment.
Saudi Aramco will supply 50 percent of the refinery's crude oil with an option of increasing it to 70 percent, the statement said.
The development will contain a 300,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery and a petrochemical complex with a capacity of 7.7 MMtpy. Refinery operations are set to begin in 2019, with petrochemical operations to follow 6-12 months afterward.
(Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Susan Fenton)
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