JAZAN--Saudi Arabia plans to become the world's second largest
exporter of refined oil products in 2017 as part of its drive to
diversify its economy and increase its share of the global crude
and petroleum products markets, the country's Oil Minister Ali
al-Naimi said on Wednesday.
"We are no longer limited to exporting crude oil," Mr. al-Naimi
told a press conference in the port city of Jazan, southwest Saudi
Arabia.
The country's two new refineries--which will add 800,000 barrels
a day in refining capacity this year--and the planned
400,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery in Jazan will bring Saudi
Arabia's refining capacity to more than 3 million barrels a
day.
"That will make the kingdom one of the five largest countries in
the world in terms of refined crude capacity and the second largest
exporter of refined products after the U.S.," Mr. al-Naimi
said.
Mr. al-Naimi didn't give a timeline of when the Jazan refinery
will be completed, but Suleman Al-Bargan, general manager of the
refinery complex, said on Tuesday it will be finished in 2017.
Saudi Aramco and its subsidiaries own or have equity interest in
domestic and international refineries with a total worldwide
refining capacity of 4.9 million barrels per day, of which its
equity share is 2.6 million barrels a day, making it the world's
sixth largest refiner, according to its website.
The company exported 331,500 barrels of refined products a day
in 2013, according to its annual review. The U.S. exported 2.66
million barrels a day of refined products in 2013, according to the
U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Planning for the Saudi refineries began around a decade ago and
are aimed at meeting the growing domestic fuel demand, as well as
provide jobs. Domestic demand hasn't grown as quickly as expected,
but as prices for Saudi Arabia's unprocessed oil have
slumped--crude prices have more than halved internationally since
last summer--the refineries could offer a profitable alternative
source of income.
Last year, Saudi Aramco began output at one of the largest oil
refineries built in recent years--a 400,000-barrel-a-day project in
a joint venture with Total SA.
Another 400,000 barrels per day plant in Yanbu, a joint venture
with China's Sinopec called Yasref, started trial runs in September
and exported its first shipment in January.
Aramco has previously said it plans to increase its refining
capacity to 8 million barrels per day in the next decade through
expansion both at home and abroad.
In 2012, Aramco set up a trading arm to trade and sell products
directly to refiners and has since opened offices in Europe and
Singapore to sell products.
(Ahmed Al Omran contributed to this report.)
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