Aramco could pay less than the originally planned $73.5 billion to its Saudi state shareholder in order to prioritize investments, Crown Prince Mohammed said earlier this week, opening the door to the oil giant to relieve some of the pressure on its balance sheet, Bloomberg reports . The announcement took observers by surprise, although it came on the heels of another one that said Aramco and SABIC will lead a $1.3-trillion, five-year investment push aimed at boosting Saudi Arabia’s private sector. Aramco could maintain its payouts to all its shareholders and meet its obligations under the investment prioritization plan, chief executive Amin Nasser said, as quoted by CNBC, a day after the second announcement. The dividends payable to private shareholders, around $1.5 billion, will not be touched, the Crown Prince said earlier this week. “We are very excited with the government’s announcement yesterday of the Shareek program,” Nasser told […]