Saudi Aramco to invest $300 bln in oil over 10 years: CEO

Saudi Arabia’s national oil company (Saudi Aramco) plans to invest more than $300 billion over the next 10 years to help Aramco maintain its spare oil production capacity and pursue exploration and production program, president and CEO Amin Nasser said on Monday.

Given the low level of investments in the sector, the world could soon face an oil supply shortage, he added.

He predicted that the world economy will double over the next 25 years and there would be an additional 2 billion energy consumers. 

“There’s a growing belief that the world can prematurely disengage from proven, reliable energy sources like oil and gas, on the assumption that alternatives will rapidly deploy,” Nasser said. “Conservative estimates suggest we need about 20 million (additional) barrels per day over the next five years to counter these effects."

The oil firm is also looking to boost its position as an integrated energy producer, and has identified refining and chemicals, among other areas, as key drivers of long-term value and growth, Nasser said, while speaking at World Petroleum Conference in Turkey.

“We aim to double our natural gas production to 23 billion standard cubic feet per day (scf/d) over the coming decade, and raise the share of gas in the Kingdom’s utilities to about 70 percent, the highest of any G20 nation,” he said.

Talking about Saudi Aramco’s commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, Nasser said the company has collaborated with many oil and gas companies to promote low-emission solutions.

Write to Nadeshda Zareen at nadeshda.zareen@argaamplus.com