Saudi Aramco, Malaysia's Petronas said to approach banks for $8 bln loan

State-run Saudi Aramco and Malaysia’s Petronas have approached banks to replace a short-term $8 billion loan raised in March with a long-term financing at nearly the same value, Reuters reported Monday, citing banking sources familiar with the matter.

In March, the two companies raised $8 billion to finance the $27 billion Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project in the southern Malaysian state of Johor.

The banking sources added that the two firms submitted a request for proposals to banks last month. They are now in the preliminary discussions stage for a loan with a maturity of more than 10 years to replace the existing one.

RAPID refinery project has a capacity of 300,000 barrels of crude per day, and will produce a range of refined petroleum products, including gasoline and diesel.

It will also provide feedstock for the integrated petrochemical complex, which is capable of producing 3.3 million tonnes per annum of petrochemical products.