Russia's RDIF nears closing Eurasia Drilling deal with Aramco

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) expects to finalize a deal with Saudi Aramco to invest in oilfield services firm Eurasia Drilling, Reuters reported, citing the fund’s chief executive Kirill Dmitriev.

“We expect to finalize an agreement very shortly to have our energy platform with Saudi Aramco invest in Eurasia Drilling and also provide services to Saudi Aramco,” Dmitriev said.

He added that Russia also has significant investments in Saudi Arabia’s petrochemicals industry.

Sibur, Russia’s largest producer of petrochemicals, is building a petrochemicals facility in the Kingdom. Earlier in October, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak had said that the deal would be worth $1.1 billion.

“Sibur, jointly with us, is building a petrochemical facility focused on ... manufacturing which is really one of the big Russian projects in Saudi Arabia and underscores the potential of cooperation in petrochemicals,” Dmitriev said.

Another announcement is expected, later on Wednesday, on a partnership between Aramco and an LNG project in Russia, he added.