Is EFG getting a slice of the Aramco pie? EFG Hermes has reportedly landed a gig as joint bookrunner in Saudi Aramco’s anticipated IPO, according to Bloomberg. Our friends will reportedly be working alongside global investment banks Bank of America, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley, who are serving as joint global coordinators. Sources said last week that the oil giant could kick off the process around 20 October ahead of a potential listing on the Tadawul in November, contradicting statements earlier in the week that the blockbuster IPO is being shelved due to the recent attacks on the company’s facilities.

Aramco’s post-attack recovery could face new challenges as it ramps up production at offshore fields to compensate for the loss of output at Abqaiq and Khurais, writes Bloomberg oil strategist Julian Lee. “All three [alternative] fields produce heavier grades of crude… Until those two plants are able to operate at their per-attack [sic] levels Saudi Arabia’s crude export slate will remain heavier, on average, than it was last month and the kingdom will likely continue to ask its customers to accept heavier alternatives to the grades they initially sought,” he writes.