Aramco’s shipping division has issued an expression of interest in the chartering of up to a dozen LNG carriers beginning in 2025, Reuters reports , citing industry sources. Liquefied natural gas is a big part of Aramco’s diversification efforts seeking to reduce its almost exclusive dependence on crude oil exports through a bigger focus on natural gas and petrochemicals. The company’s expansion into natural gas will be an international endeavor, Aramco said earlier this year during its first-ever investor conference call. A few months earlier, the Saudi company sealed a deal with Sempra Energy to buy 5 million tons of LNG annually from Sempra’s Port Arthur plant. The Port Arthur facility has yet to be built and Aramco has also negotiated a 25-percent stake purchase in its first phase of development. The project includes the construction of two liquefaction trains along with up to three storage tanks and the […]