Saudi Aramco Product Trading Company (Aramco Trading) would undertake and enhance the system balancing of refined petroleum products to optimize and support Saudi Aramco’s expanding in-Kingdom and overseas downstream investment portfolio, said a company statement posted on its website.

The subsidiary will be based in Saudi Arabia and will commence trading operations by the end of this year, a top company official said in the statement.

“Through the establishment of this new subsidiary Aramco Trading, we hope to better capture integration opportunities in our global system, and additionally create more value for our expanding downstream business in Saudi Arabia, and overseas,” Khalid G. Al-Buainain, senior vice-president, Downstream, Saudi Aramco, said in his address to customers, industry participants and stakeholders at the company’s IP Week annual gathering in London.

With energy demand forecast to rise in the long term, Saudi Aramco continues to demonstrate its commitment to meeting future demand by undertaking a significant downstream capital program via investments through its subsidiaries, affiliates and joint ventures in Saudi Arabia and abroad.

“The shift in trade patterns will bring both challenges and opportunities that can be leveraged by the Company in balancing its system and create value through the continuous market participation,” said Said A. Al-Hadrami, president and CEO of the newly formed subsidiary.

“We also want to emphasize that the new subsidiary will only engage in products trading,” he added in the statement.