Transformation plan to boost competitiveness, financial results: Petro Rabigh CEO

Othman Al Ghamdi, CEO of Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. (Petro Rabigh)

Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. (Petro Rabigh) launched a comprehensive transformation plan to restore financial stability and profitability, cementing on four key pillars, said President and CEO Othman Al Ghamdi.

Speaking to Asharq TV, Al Ghamdi said the first pillar is the recently announced capital restructuring, aimed at reducing debt to $4 billion and cutting accumulated losses by 70%.

The second pillar focuses on restoring reliability and operational efficiency at the Saudi-listed company’s plants, the top executive added, noting that comprehensive maintenance of facilities and equipment was successfully completed in Q2 of this year — a process carried out every five years.

The third pillar pivots on improving profit margins and reducing operating expenses, while the fourth pillar involves converting some low-value products into high value-added ones.

Al Ghamdi pointed out that three medium-scale projects worth $80-120 million each were already approved as part of a pipeline coming under the fourth pillar, with completion targeted within two years. Meanwhile, a project to convert heavy fuel oil remains under study.

He stressed that the successful execution of that plan will strengthen the company’s competitiveness and support its financial performance.

According to data available with Argaam, Petro Rabigh’s board of directors recommended increasing capital by 31.5% (SAR 5.26 billion), in favor of its founding shareholders, Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical Co. This is in a bid to ramp up operations and strengthen its financial position.

The board also proposed a subsequent capital reduction, lowering the company’s capital from SAR 21.97 billion to SAR 16.71 billion by slashing the nominal value of Class A common shares from SAR 10 to SAR 6.85 per share, in an attempt to offset accumulated losses.

Petro Rabigh reported a net loss of SAR 2.1 billion for H1 2025, compared with SAR 2.5 billion a year earlier, with Q2 losses reaching SAR 1.4 billion.

Accumulated losses stood at SAR 7.33 billion as of June 30, 2025, representing 43.9% of its SAR 16.71 billion capital.