Analysis-Riding the oil price rebound: Gulf states to accelerate asset sales
FILE PHOTO: An employee looks on at Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov//File Photo
August 3, 2021
By Hadeel Al Sayegh, Saeed Azhar and Davide Barbuscia
DUBAI(Reuters) – Saudi Aramco and other Gulf oil producers are following in the footsteps of Abu Dhabi with plans to raise tens of billions of dollars through sales of stakes in energy assets, capitalising on a rebound in crude prices to attract foreign investors.
The moves, in a region traditionally possessive of its refineries, power plants and pipelines, highlight the pressure on petrostates to raise funds to diversify their sources of revenue and to bolster national finances hit by a recent slump in oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic.