Saudi Arabia’s potential sale of shares in its state-owned oil giant could include listing at least part of its exploration and production assets, the company’s chairman said in an interview Monday, countering speculation that any IPO would focus solely on its refining and petrochemical arms.
“We are considering a listing at the top. So a listing of the main company, and obviously the main company will include upstream,” said Khalid al-Falih, chairman of the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., better known as Saudi Aramco, referring to the company’s exploration and production units.
A potential listing of Saudi Aramco’s reserves presents a dizzying challenge for the kingdom, investors and bankers. The company says it has more than 260 billion barrels of proved reserves and the equivalent of 50 billion barrels of natural-gas reserves—more than 12 times the largest nonstate-controlled oil company, Exxon Mobil Corp.
Even a listing that includes only a small percentage of its production and reserves could make it too big to be included in Saudi Arabia’s fledgling stock market, the Tadawul. Mohammad al-Sabban, an independent oil analyst and former senior adviser to the Saudi oil ministry, has estimated Aramco’s total valued at $10 trillion.
“Even if you float only 5%, the value is going to be huge,” said Robin Mills, a Dubai-based energy analyst.
