Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant is reviewing plans to expand at home and abroad in the face of sharply lower oil prices and a heavy dividend burden it assumed as part of its recent initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.
Saudi Aramco is now slowing down and reviewing a $6.6 billion plan to add petrochemical output at its Motiva refinery in Texas, these people said. It is also reviewing a big natural-gas project with Sempra Energy in the same state, and pausing investments in refineries in China, India and Pakistan, these people said. At home, Aramco is delaying by a year plans, announced in March, to boost crude production capacity to 13 million barrels a day, from currently about 12 million, these people said.
Aramco didn’t immediately return requests for comment.
