Aramco to tap into Australian LNG via MidOcean Stake

The news: Oil giant Saudi Aramco is poised to dip into Australia's LNG market via a USD500 million ($774.4 million) minority stake in MidOcean, which is part of a consortium that has agreed a deal to take over Origin Energy. Aramco agreed to acquire the stake on Thursday, with an option to increase its shareholding, which could raise questions with regulators yet to approve the deal.

The numbers: A consortium led by Canadian investment group Brookfield and EIG-controlled MidOcean agreed to buy Origin in March 2023 for $8.91 per share, or $18.7 billion. Origin shares were trading at $8.75 just before 1pm AEST on Friday.

The context: Saudi Aramco's stake in the acquisition could raise eyebrows with Foreign Investment Review Board, since the deal would leave Aramco — the world's biggest oil producer — with stakes in projects accounting for more than half of Australia's LNG export capacity, the Ausralian Financial Review reports.