Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Aramco windfall trickles downstream
Refining, petchems and distribution businesses are feeling the investment impact of sustained oil market strength
The multibillion-dollar Amiral petrochemicals complex planned by state-owned Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies on the Kingdom’s east coast received pitches for the main construction packages in early October, almost exactly four years after the venture was first announced. Belated movement on the flagship scheme is symptomatic of the galvanising impact a sustained oil market bull run has had on Aramco’s investment activities. When Aramco CEO Amin Nasser presented investors with the firm’s long-term growth priorities, alongside a $48.4bn second-quarter net profit, third on the list—after increasing oil and gas production—was a reaffirmed intent to convert up to 4mn bl/d of liquids to chemicals.
Also in this section
9 January 2026
The Latin American producer’s crude prospects rely on a multi-pronged approach where even the relatively easy wins will take considerable time, effort and cost
9 January 2026
While many forecasters are reasserting the importance of oil and gas, petrostates should be under no illusion things are changing, and faster than they might think
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
8 January 2026
The next five years will be critical for the North Sea, and it will be policy not geology that will decide the basin’s future
