Energy demand growing, Saudi Aramco to continue boosting investments in next few years: Nasser

Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser

Saudi Aramco CEO and President Amin Nasser said estimates show that the current investments are insufficient for meeting even the conservative forecast for potential oil demand, due to the natural decrease in supply from production fields worldwide.  

There will be a gap between supply and demand, which will be an opportunity for the company to increase the sustainable maximum capacity in order to partially fill the gap, Nasser said during an e-conference to discuss the oil company's 2021 financial results.  

The demand for oil is growing amid higher cost of living and population growth across the world, Nasser added, noting that this underlines the key role of oil and gas in the next decades. 

Saudi Aramco will continue to boost its investments in the next few years to achieve more growth. It also supports transformation programs in the energy field, and provides them for global clients with reliability and sustainability at affordable prices. 

The production of cost of crude oil per barrel dropped, compared to the global cost whether on the financial or carbon emissions level, he noted. 

The oil giant aims to be the world’s largest integrated company in energy and chemicals, and to play an important role in increasing supply. 

Nasser also added that the energy sector is facing a great challenge, represented in the balance between reducing the carbon emissions arising from energy production and meeting the rising global demand for energy. 

Commenting on the results of acquiring 70% of SABIC, Nasser revealed that significant progress has been achieved in integration with SABIC, as it generated about $1.6 billion from the integration target amounting to $3-4 billion within 18 months after the deal completion. 
 

Nasser also indicated that the company focuses in the fuel and chemicals business on achieving integration across the value chain to create higher value from the barrel of oil and convert liquids into chemicals, with plans to convert about 4 million barrels per day. 
 

He revealed plans to boost gas production by more than 50% by 2030, in order to meet the growing domestic demand for low-cost and low-carbon energy while achieving commercial returns. 
 

He pointed out that gas production from conventional and non-conventional fields will see growth with the increase in quantities of ethane gas, gas liquids and condensate used in the feedstock. 
 

The increase in gas production will lead to the replacement of liquid burning in the electricity, desalination and industry sectors, which will help reduce the Kingdom's carbon emissions, and increase the ability to export liquids produced by the company, according to the top official. 
 

"We have added investment in gas storage in order to manage the seasonal demand of the utility sector and establish the intensity of operation and expenditure," he said. 
 

Al-Jafurah giant field is an essential component of Aramco's gas portfolio and it will provide the necessary feedstock for the production of blue ammonia and support the company's plans to develop its capabilities in the production and export of hydrogen, Nasser said.
 

Aramco chief executive also said that the attacks on the Kingdom's oil facilities by Houthi militias may affect future supplies. 
 

"We are still reliable suppliers in the field of energy," Nasser told reporters. 
 

Saudi Arabia announced today, March 21, that it will not bear any responsibility for any shortage of oil supplies to global markets, due to attacks on the Kingdom's oil facilities from the terrorist Iran-backed Houthi militias.