Saudi Aramco’s 2019 IPO made it one of the world’s largest publicly traded oil producers by market capitalization.
Saudi Aramco began trading on the Saudi Exchange in December 2019. Its initial public offering valued the company at about $1.7 trillion, and its shares rose enough on the second trading day for the company’s market value to approach $2 trillion.
The company is officially Saudi Arabian Oil Company and is majority owned by the government of Saudi Arabia. It operates across crude-oil production, natural gas, refining, chemicals, and distribution. Its enormous reserves and production scale are central to its valuation.
Saudi Aramco’s offering was unusual because only a relatively small portion of the company was sold to public investors. This differs from a fully privatized company: the government retained overwhelming control even after the listing.