The largest oil corporation in the world, Saudi Aramco, which has a market value of over $2 trillion, has made its first overseas investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG), indicating that it wants to diversify its energy sources.
A strategic minority share in Washington-based MidOcean Energy, which is owned and managed by American investment firm EIG Partners, is being acquired by the state-owned company.
Aramco enters the global LNG market with the $500 million deal, which comes with the option to increase the shareholding size. This market is expected to grow as governments look for safer and more reliable energy supplies as they move towards a low-carbon economy.
Amin Nasser, CEO and president of Aramco, offered the following statement regarding the deal: "We foresee robust demand-led growth for LNG as the world continues on its energy transition journey, with gas being a critical fuel and feedstock in numerous industries. In our opinion, petrol will be crucial in supplying the world's expanding demand for safe, dependable, and environmentally friendly energy.
As part of its expansion plan to build a diversified global LNG business, MidOcean Energy is now in the process of purchasing interests in four Australian LNG projects. In October 2022, the business and Tokyo Gas agreed that the latter would purchase the former's shares in Queensland Curtis LNG, Ichthys LNG, Gorgon LNG, and Ichthys LNG for 2.15 billion dollars in cash.
Over the past couple of years, LNG ship orders have been submitted in record numbers, and shipyards obviously expect the volume of orders to keep rising. The approval for the construction of 17 LNG carriers by Middle Eastern LNG goliath QatarEnergy represents one of the largest single shipyard orders in history, costing roughly $4 billion, for South Korea's HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).
-By Emilia Wood|thetransporteronline24|UK
