Saudi Aramco is preparing to make its oil reserve figures public ahead of its initial public offering.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Saudi Arabian energy minister Khalid al-Falih that Saudi Arabia will publish an audited total of its oil reserves.
Al-Falih said that the reserve data will be verified by independent third parties.
The names of the third parties who will verify the information have not been disclosed yet.
“This is going to be the most transparent national oil company listing of all time,” al-Falih told the Financial Times.
Saudi Aramco has long contended that it has reserves of about 260 billion barrels of oil.
According to estimates complied by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Saudi Arabia holds 16 percent of the world’s proved oil reserves, is the largest exporter of total petroleum liquids in the world and maintains the world’s largest crude oil production capacity.
In its 2015 annual review, Saudi Aramco said it produced an average of 10.2 million barrels of crude per day, up from 9.5 million bpd in 2014 and all time high for the company.
Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said in October that he feels “comfortable” that market conditions will allow his company to list its IPO in 2018.
Nasser added that Saudi Aramco will offer up to a 5 percent stake through the IPO.
The state-owned company has not yet chosen an exchange to list its IPO.
Nasser said earlier that month that the listing process was on target and a list of investment banks and consultants advising his company on the IPO would be made public “very soon.”
The offering is expected to be one of the largest initial public offerings ever made and is expected to a billion dollar fee bonanza for the world’s largest investment banks.
