Malaysia says concludes talks with Saudi Aramco over Rapid investment

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia has completed talks with Saudi Aramco over the oil giant's planned US$7 billion investment in Petronas' Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project, said the minister in the prime minister's department, Abdul Rahman Dahlan.

Aramco's investment will come in by the end of the month, minister Abdul Rahman said on Tuesday at the OTC Asia conference.

Saudi Aramco agreed last February to buy a US$7 billion stake in the Rapid project of Malaysian state energy firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd.

Minister Abdul Rahman had said in November the companies will finalise the joint venture after resolving "technical issues".

Rapid is a US$27 billion project located between the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, conduits for Middle East oil and gas bound for China, Japan and South Korea.

Rapid will consist of a 300,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery and a petrochemical complex with a capacity of 7.7 million metric tonnes a year.

Refinery operations are set to begin in 2019, with petrochemical plants to follow 6-12 months later.

REUTERS