Saudi Aramco is in the process of taking over SABIC, the Middle East’s largest petrochemical producer LONDON: Saudi Arabia plans to start exporting gas and will soon make a major announcement on the topic, the country’s energy minister said. “Soon you will hear about the ability of the Kingdom to be a gas exporter and a petrochemical exporter,” Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman said in a televised speech, S&P Global Platts reported. The Kingdom has been investing in gas exploration as it looks to boost its industrial footprint and reduce its reliance on crude oil for domestic power generation. At the same time it uses natural gas as a feedstock for its massive petrochemicals industry. Last month the Saudi energy minister told a gathering at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week of the Kingdom’s plans to completely revamp its energy mix and rely on more gas and renewables. “Primarily, we want to achieve it assuming that people have to give all sources of energy a fair and equitable chance as long as we mitigate these emissions,” he said. Former Saudi oil minister Khalid Al-Falih last year announced the discovery of large amounts of gas in the Red Sea. Saudi Aramco has announced plans to take over SABIC, the region’s largest petrochemical producer.