Saudi Arabia hints at privatisation of some refineries

Saudi Arabia announced it may privatise some refineries, but only after conducting market surveys to see if its in the country's best interests, Oil Minister Ali Naimi was quoted as saying.
The comments appear to be part of a wider policy change. The kingdom has opened its upstream to foreign investment -- both with the gas awards and an earlier contract with Shell and Total -- and Naimi recently hinted at a possible shift in attitudes toward gas exports.

Saudi Arabia has seven refineries with a total capacity of about 2 mm bpd.
Two of the newest are 50:50 joint ventures with Western partners -- the Red Sea Samref refinery at Yanbu with ExxonMobil, and the Mideast Gulf Sasref refinery at Jubail with Shell.