- Forbes 9/2016: Saudi Arabia buying up America's oil assets
![](http://i.imgur.com/1mBeUjR.jpg")
Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser (L) talks with Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne (R) during a press conference following a meeting of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) in Paris on October 16, 2015. ERIC PIERMONT/AFP/Getty ImagesSaudi Arabia is quietly amassing quite a portfolio of American energy assets. State-owned Saudi Aramco is already co-owner, with Royal Dutch Shell , of Motiva, the largest U.S. refinery. Under an already signed agreement, in April 2017, Aramco will take full ownership of the most valuable Motiva assets. Now comes news that Motiva is the leading candidate to purchase the Lyondell Basell Refinery in Houston. This would give Saudi Arabia control of two major Texas refineries proving, once again, that American energy independence is impossible.