Saudi Arabia amends Aramco concession deal, royalty on crude oil output cut to 15% from 20%

Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco) said it amended its concession agreement with the state government, as royalty on crude oil and condensate output will be cut to 15 percent from 20 percent.

The new amendments will be effective as of Jan. 1, 2020.

The government adopted regulations regarding the manner in which the company is compensated for gas sold domestically in the Kingdom.

Aramco will be compensated by the government for revenue directly lost due to domestically supplying regulated gas products in case government-mandated prices do not match the determined relevant price to generate the return approved by the government from the company’s gas projects (effective as of September. 17, 2019);

The new amendments include: 

- The reduction of royalty on crude oil and condensate output to 15 percent from 20 percent on Brent prices up to $70 per barrel; 

- The increase of  marginal royalty rate to 45 percent from 40 percent on Brent prices above $70 per barrel up to $100 per barrel; 

- The increase of marginal royalty rate to 80 percent from 50 percent on Brent prices above $100 per barrel;

The Saudi government will compensate Aramco for carrying costs associated with maintaining government-mandated petroleum product reserves in an amount of $41.2 million per month (effective as at 1 January 2020G); 

Government extended the liquids price equalization mechanism to compensate the Company for revenue directly forgone as a result of the Company’s compliance with the Government mandates related to domestic sales of LPGs and certain other products (effective as at 1 January 2020G);

Government will also cut tax rate on downstream business to 20 percent from the 50 percent – 85 percent multi-tiered range, on the condition that Aramco consolidates its downstream business under the control of a separate wholly owned unit before 31 December 2024.

The period for which Aramco will not be obligated to pay royalties on condensate production extended for an additional 10 years after the current five-year period ending on 1 January 2023; may be further extended for subsequent 10-year period subject to government approval.

For more details about Saudi Aramco IPO