Aramco denies interest in US company

Saudi Aramco on Tuesday denied it was competing for a stake in US-based Frac Tech International, a company that operates technology used extensively in North America to free up trapped oil and natural gas. "Recent media reports suggesting Saudi Aramco is competing for an interest in a US-based shale-gas services provider are completely untrue," Aramco said in a statement. On December 14, sources told Reuters Saudi Aramco and Chinese oil companies are each in talks to buy a stake in Frac Tech International. The sources said Frac Tech was also in advanced talks with Aramco, Spain's Repsol-YPF and Sinopec — as China Petroleum and Chemical Corp is known — to establish three separate joint ventures in the Middle East, Argentina and China.