Saudi Aramco CEO expects oil demand to improve in H2 2021

Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser

Global oil demand will improve in the second half of 2021, Saudi Aramco president and chief executive officer (CEO) Amin Nasser said, expecting a return to around pre-pandemic levels next year.

Oil demand has recovered to around 94 million barrels per day (bpd) and could reach 99 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2022, Reuters reported, citing Nasser.

Chinese demand is approaching pre-pandemic levels but has not reached that level in Europe, he added.

The COVID-19 vaccine is expected to improve the situation, he added, noting that the company will continue to control its debt. However, debt is likely to rise going forward.

Borrowing is under control, despite the promissory notes issued to the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Debt-to-equity levels saw a marginal increase in Q4 2020, Nasser explained.

Saudi Aramco has contingency and emergency response plans in place to deal with any attacks, Nasser noted.

He said a refinery in Riyadh, which was attacked on Friday and caught fire, began to be brought back on stream within a few hours.

The company posted a 44% fall in net profit after Zakat and tax to SAR 183.76 billion for 2020, compared to SAR 330.69 billion a year earlier.

Aramco’s board of directors recommended a cash dividend of SAR 70.33 billion ($18.76 billion) for the fourth quarter of 2020.