Aramco’s full ownership transfer to allow Petronas to control PRefChem

Saudi Aramco, formerly known as the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) have signed an agreement for the transfer of Aramco’s equity stakes in Pengerang Refining Company Sdn. Bhd. and Pengerang Petrochemical Company Sdn. Bhd., collectively known as PRefChem, to Petronas. The facilities are located within the Pengerang Integrated Complex in Johor, Malaysia. Subject to customary closing conditions, the transfer will make PRefChem a wholly owned and operated subsidiary of the Petronas Group.

The move marks a significant strategic shift for both companies, allowing Petronas to gain complete operational control over the integrated refining and petrochemical complex. Full ownership is expected to strengthen Petronas’ ability to enhance operational alignment and improve flexibility across its value chain. The company also plans to leverage its international supply network and integrated operating model to maintain operational reliability amid changing market dynamics and fluctuating energy demand patterns.

For Aramco, the transaction forms part of the company’s broader strategy to optimize its downstream portfolio and streamline investments in line with its long-term growth objectives. By divesting its stake in PRefChem, Aramco is expected to gain additional flexibility to focus on downstream investments that are better aligned with its evolving global strategy and capital allocation priorities.

Mutual agreement
The agreement was concluded on mutually agreed terms, reflecting the changing strategic priorities of both companies amid a rapidly evolving global energy landscape. Despite the ownership transfer, Aramco and Petronas are expected to continue strengthening their long-standing partnership through various commercial arrangements. These may include coordinated crude oil supply agreements, technology collaboration, and integrated product distribution initiatives aimed at enhancing operational efficiencies and market reach.

Industry analysts believe the transaction could further reinforce Petronas’ position in the Asian refining and petrochemical sector, particularly at a time when regional demand for transportation fuels and petrochemical products remains resilient despite economic uncertainties. The Pengerang Integrated Complex is regarded as one of the largest integrated refining and petrochemical hubs in Southeast Asia and plays a crucial role in regional energy and chemical supply chains.

Both Aramco and Petronas reiterated their commitment to operational excellence and long-term value creation for stakeholders and the communities they serve. The companies also indicated that they would continue exploring opportunities for future collaboration across energy, refining, and petrochemical segments as part of their multi-decade strategic relationship.

Aramco and Pasqal
Aramco, one of the world's leading energy and chemicals companies, in partnership with Pasqal, a global leader in neutral-atom quantum computing, today officially inaugurated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s first quantum computer. Aramco and Pasqal also unveiled the first commercial Quantum Computing as a Service (QCaaS) platform in the Middle East, opening a new chapter in building regional expertise and accelerating the development of quantum applications across the energy, materials and industrial sectors.

Marking a major milestone in the region’s technological advancement, QCaaS enables remote cloud access for potential clients around the globe. Located at Aramco's data center in Dhahran, the computer provides customers with immediate, low-latency access to quantum hardware through a secure cloud platform to address complex industrial challenges.

Ahmad O. Al Khowaiter, Aramco Executive Vice President of Technology & Innovation, said, “This quantum milestone belongs to our Saudi researchers, engineers and scientists. By investing in joint training and research, we are building world class quantum expertise right here in the Kingdom—an expertise that will power the next generation of energy solutions, accelerate lower carbon fuel development, and enhance reservoir and supply chain optimization. Let this achievement be the catalyst for an innovation driven economy, creating high impact, future ready jobs for our youth and advancing Saudi Vision 2030.”

Wasiq Bokhari, Pasqal CEO, said, "Aramco is not just waiting for quantum computing, it is helping to shape it as a global leader. This inauguration is evidence that the most demanding industrial challenges in the world are now being tackled with Pasqal's quantum processors, software and specific solutions. For Pasqal, deploying our system for use in Aramco's business-critical operations, while also being available to the region's enterprises and research community, is a part of our core mission: to enable practical and secure quantum computing at scale today."

Significance
Pasqal has been designing and building high-performance hardware and cloud-ready software since 2019, to address complex challenges in optimization, simulation, and artificial intelligence. Following its initial deployment in November 2025, the Pasqal Quantum Processing Unit (QPU) is powered by neutral-atom technology and controls 200 programmable qubits. Today's inauguration formalizes its entry into active operation across a growing portfolio of industrial use cases and enables enterprises to explore and develop quantum-enhanced solutions for real-world industrial challenges.

Under the terms of the partnership, Aramco will progress a roadmap of use cases on a production-ready QPU as a foundational customer, accelerating development of quantum-hybrid solutions for its programs across energy, materials and industrial operations. Other external organizations, including research institutions, universities, and enterprises, can use Pasqal’s cloud platform to access one of the few quantum computers in the world.

Aramco’s domestic venture capital arm, Wa’ed Ventures, initially invested in Pasqal in January 2023, reinforcing efforts to localize advanced quantum technologies and accelerate the development of the regional quantum ecosystem. Since then, Aramco and Pasqal have built a structured quantum program targeting high-value operational challenges across multiple work-streams, where quantum-hybrid approaches unlock capabilities beyond classical computing. These Aramco work-streams include port logistics optimization, CO₂ storage optimization, well placement, rig scheduling, building the Kingdom’s quantum workforce, and making quantum computing available throughout the region.


DILIP KUMAR JHA
Editor
dilip.jha@polymerupdate.com