Saudi Aramco seeks opportunities in Turkey like bidding for Petrol Ofisi

Saudi Commerce and Investment Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi has said Saudi national oil company Aramco is interested in investment opportunities in Turkey, in response to rumors that Aramco is one of the companies to place bids for the second-round sales of Petrol Ofisi Inc. (PO), which is owned by the Austrian energy company OMV. He added that the Saudi national oil giant might seize opportunities in Turkey in the fields of refining, storage and distribution.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Al Qasabi assessed Aramco's vision and the development process of Turkish-Saudi trade relations. According to Al Qasabi, Aramco takes special interest in Turkish companies operating in the petro-chemical sector. Aramco signed a memorandum of understanding with 18 Turkish companies during October's World Energy Congress in Istanbul. Referring to the deals signed, the minister also noted that these deals will make it easier for Turkish companies to bid for Aramco's various projects. Meanwhile, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), Koç Holding and Opet oil companies are also interested in the sale of Petrol Ofisi, in relation to which Aramco is receiving consultancy services from HSBC.

The OMV decided to sell off 100 percent of its shares in its subsidiary Petrol Ofisi in February. OMV Petrol Ofisi has been carrying out operations in Turkey and has 1,785 gas stations and the company announced that it had a sales volume of 10 million tons in 2015.