The yield on Aramco’s $3 billion of bonds due in 2029 has dropped to 2.09 per cent from 3.04 per cent at the start of the year. That’s only slightly higher than the government’s equivalent securities, which trade at 2 per cent.

The state-controlled energy firm, which sold shares on the Saudi stock exchange last year, will hold calls with fixed-income investors starting November 16, according to a statement. A dollar deal with tranches maturing in three, five, 10, 30 and 50 years may follow, depending on investor demand.

Aramco would look at using “all the instruments available to us,” to meet its dividend pledge, Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said in June.

The company already drew down a $10 billion loan in July to help plug the funding gap. Its free cash flow in the first nine months of the year was $33.5 billion – more than $20 billion short of what it declared in dividend payouts for the period.

While crude prices have recovered from their March lows to around $44 a barrel, they’re still down 34 per cent this year. Unless prices rise further, the government may not be able to rely on the annual dividend of almost $75 billion beyond next year, Moody’s Investors Service said last month. Aramco pledged to make the payout for at least five years after its listing.

Aramco’s debut bond sale last year raised $12 billion and was one of the most oversubscribed debt offerings in history, attracting more than $100 billion in investor orders.