Saudi Aramco is reportedly planning to increase oil production capacity from 12 million barrels per day (MMbpd) to 13MMbpd by 2027.
Saudi Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser said at the Energy Intelligence Forum, an online conference: “The full capacity will be available by 2027 but it will come in increments.
“We will focus on existing fields and will make the appropriate disclosure and announcements when we reach certain project milestones but it is going to come from existing and new fields, so it will be a combination of both.”
The tighter global supplies of natural gas had helped in boosting oil demand by 500,000bpd. This is due to consumer’s shift to crude from gas.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia’s national oil company is also planning to expand its oil trading business over the next five years from its current 5.5MMbpd to 8MMbpd.
The latest move by the firm comes amid surging oil and gas prices, which hit a three-year high on 5 October, after the decision by the OPEC+ group to implement the planned approach to restore output which was slashed during the pandemic.
Under the agreement signed in July 2021, OPEC and allied oil-producing countries will add 400,000 barrels per day every month until April 2022, until the previous cuts are reversed fully.
The decision by OPEC+ comes despite the increased pressure to boost output to meet the surging demand following the revival in the economy post the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, OPEC+ is concerned over possible slump in demand recovery in case of the fourth global wave of Covid-19 pandemic, said a source.
Brent crude increased $1.07 or 1.3% to $82.33 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil surged $0.89 or 1.2% to $78.51. Global oil prices have witnessed surge by more than 50% this year.
