State petroleum giant Saudi Aramco is approaching banks with a view to raising up to $4.7-5bn in loans to free up capital from its recently completed Yasref refinery. This will add to the $15.7bn of low-cost finance raised by Aramco and its JV partners since the mid-2014 oil prices collapse.

Aramco is seeking loans for 7-10 years to release capital from the Yanbu’-based project, which it built in a joint venture with China’s Sinopec, using the companies’ own capital, recent Reuters and Bloomberg reports indicate. (CONTINUED - 513 WORDS)