Riyadh: Saudi Aramco plans to invest at least SR450bn ($120bn) in oil, gas and petrochemical projects over the next five to six years. According to Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Aramco chief executive, investment will be directed into new gas and oil plant to meet growing energy demand, as well as new facilities enabling the continued development of petrochemical production. To cope with rising demand, world oil production is likely to rise by a million barrels a day each year between now and 2030, Al-Falih forecast, taking daily worldwide production from today's 85m barrels a day to 105m by 2030.
Some $60bn of Saudi Aramco's total investment will be spent in the oil sector on projects including new refinery and petrochemical capacity in Jubail, Yanbu, Rabigh and Ras Tanura, Al-Falih told the Al Arabiya news channel. The country has recently taken steps to raise production capacity and provide a larger buffer to cope with fluctuating global oil demand and/or supply hiccups.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, has long been one of the few countries capable of increasing oil production by any significant margin over a short period. The additional investment will raise the country's capacity from today's 12.5m barrels a day to cope with additional demand from China, India and the Middle East, Al-Falih said. [02/01/10]
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