KARACHI: Saudi oil giant, Aramco, has signed an agreement to acquire a 40 percent equity stake in Gas & Oil Pakistan Limited (GO), Aramco said on Tuesday, marking the Saudi state-owned company’s foray into the Pakistani fuel retail market.
GO, a diversified downstream fuels, lubricants and convenience stores operator, is one of the largest retail and storage companies in the South Asian country.
Aramco said the deal will help secure additional outlets for its refined products and provide new market opportunities for Valvoline-branded lubricants, following its acquisition of the Valvoline Inc. global products business in Feb. 2023.
The planned acquisition is subject to certain customary conditions, including regulatory approvals, to advance the Saudi oil giant’s strategy to strengthen its downstream value chain internationally.
“Our second planned retail acquisition this year aligns with Aramco’s downstream expansion strategy, with a clear path ahead for growing an integrated refining, marketing, lubricants, trading and chemicals portfolio worldwide,” Aramco quoted its Downstream President Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani as saying in a statement.
“GO has a significant storage capacity, high-quality assets and growth potential, which will help launch the Aramco brand in Pakistan.”
Aramco is a global integrated energy and chemicals company that produces approximately one in every eight barrels of the world’s oil supply and develops cutting-edge energy technologies.
GO commenced its operation in 2015 after Pakistan’s Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) granted permission to initiate sales and marketing of petroleum products in Punjab. The company currently operates 1,000 retail outlets across the South Asian country.
The development comes at a time when Saudi Aramco is already in talks with Pakistani authorities for setting up an oil refinery and a petrochemical complex in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s caretaker energy minister, Muhammad Ali, last month told Arab News his government was actively engaged with Saudi authorities on the multibillion-dollar Aramco oil refinery project and expecting progress on the project in the next few months.
In 2019, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had signed seven agreements, worth $21 billion, during an official visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The deals included around $10 billion for the Aramco oil refinery and $1 billion for the petrochemical complex project in southwest Pakistan.
Last month, Shell Pakistan (SPL) also signed a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Wafi Energy to sell its domestic operations after Shell Global announced its exit from Pakistan in June, with the sale of 77 percent shareholding in the local business.
Wafi is a fast-growing retail gas station network and sole licensee of Shell Retail Network (Gas Stations) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Based in Riyadh, the company was incorporated in Sept. 2012, with a paid-up capital of 3 million Saudi riyals.
Saudi Aramco enters Pakistan with the acquisition of 40% stake in GO petroleum company
https://arab.news/juf98
Saudi Aramco enters Pakistan with the acquisition of 40% stake in GO petroleum company
- Planned acquisition is Aramco’s first entry into Pakistan’s fuel retail market in bid to strengthen its downstream value chain
- Pakistan, Aramco are also in talks for setting up mega oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Pakistan’s Balochistan province
Closing Bell: Saudi main market ends week in red at 11,189
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index closed lower at the end of the trading week on Thursday, falling 1.34 percent, or 152.54 points, to finish at 11,188.73.
The benchmark index opened at 11,320.52 and trended lower throughout the session, finishing well below its previous close of 11,341.27.
Market breadth was sharply negative, with only 28 gainers compared with 236 decliners. Trading activity saw a volume of 239 million shares exchanged, with total turnover reaching SR5.5 billion ($1.47 billion).
In the parallel market, Nomu closed higher, rising 0.23 percent to 23,865.95, although decliners continued to outnumber advancers. The MT30 index closed at 1,508.60, down 1.46 percent, shedding 22.38 points by the end of the session.
Among the session’s top gainers, Dar Al Majed Real Estate Co. led advances, rising 5.43 percent to close at SR9.91.
Al Aziziah REIT Fund added 4.67 percent to SR4.48, while Al Majed Oud Co. gained 2.81 percent to SR161.20. AFG International Co. advanced 2.45 percent to SR17.17, and Al Mawarid Manpower Co. rose 1.37 percent to SR125.70.
On the losing side, Saudi Research and Media Group posted the steepest decline, falling 6.88 percent to SR107. Cherry Trading Co. dropped 6.23 percent to SR28.88, while Saudi Arabian Mining Co. slipped 5.41 percent to SR72.55.
Almasane Alkobra Mining Co. declined 5.38 percent to SR102, and Power and Water Utility Co. for Jubail and Yanbu ended 4.56 percent lower at SR31.36.
On the announcements front, Saudi Industrial Investment Group released its interim financial results for the twelve-month period ended Dec. 31, 2025, reporting a return to profitability on an annual basis despite posting a quarterly loss.
The company recorded a net loss of SR104 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a net profit of SR201 million in the same quarter of the previous year, which it attributed mainly to lower selling prices, higher operating costs, and increased general and administrative expenses.
For the full year, however, the group posted a net profit attributable to shareholders of SR197 million, compared with SR161 million a year earlier, supported by higher sales volumes and improved operational performance at several subsidiaries. The stock last traded at SR14.77, down 3.59 percent.
Separately, Saudi Exchange Co. announced the approval of a request by Merrill Lynch Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to terminate its market-making activities for Saudi Arabian Oil Co., effective Feb. 8.
The exchange said the termination relates specifically to the market-making agreement for Saudi Aramco shares and was approved in line with applicable market-making regulations.
