HOUSTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The world's largest oil

producer, Saudi Aramco, wants to become a major

liquefied natural gas player, the head of its natural gas

business said on Tuesday.

Saudi Aramco has taken the first steps to reach a goal of

becoming a major LNG player, said Abdulkarim Al-Ghamdi, an

Aramco executive vice president, at the GasTech energy

conference in Houston.

The Saudi oil giant last year acquired from EIG Global

Energy Partners LLC a minority stake in MidOcean Energy for $500

million, its first foray into LNG abroad. This month, it

increased its stake to 49%.