Saudi Arabia has had just five ministers in charge of oil policy since 1960.
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Now, with oil demand “increasing”, Nasser said Saudi Aramco “will meet the call”, noting that the company which has a monopoly on the kingdom’s production pumped an average of 10.2 million barrels per day (bpd) past year. With higher oil prices, opposition would have been enormous, as most Saudis are fuel addicts.
In some of the first comments on Riyadh’s oil policy since a government reshuffle at the weekend, Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco chief executive, emphasised the company’s willingness to compete with rivals, putting on notice rival oil producers from regional adversary Iran to the U.S. shale sector.
Oil is traded in dollars, meaning a stronger greenback makes it more expensive for holders of other units.
Despite the prospect of a further glut, crude prices rose as a massive wildfire in Canada’s tar sands district in Alberta province continues to disrupt 2.5 million barrels of daily production capacity.
The move will see Shaybah’s capacity rise from 750,000 barrels to one million barrels a day.
CEO Amin Nasser said that Saudi Arabia can sustain a level of 12 million barrels of oil a day-a volume it has never reached.
“There will be a requirement for major producers” to increase output in line with “the prospect of additional demand”, he said.
It is mulling an initial public offering in New York, London and Hong Kong, alongside a smaller listing on the Saudi stock exchange.
Last month, Prince Mohammed said he expected the IPO would value Aramco at least US$2 trillion, but that he thought the figure might end up being higher. “He was the de facto leader of OPEC, given Saudi Arabia’s position”, he said. Saudi Aramco already has refining and petrochemical partnerships in the US, China, South Korea and Japan, as well as in Saudi Arabia, giving it a share in plants capable of processing 5.4 million barrels a day.
Baker, who served under President George H.W. Bush and joined a USA delegation to meet Saudi Arabia’s new king past year, told a gathering of oil industry dealmakers that changes like the Aramco IPO could help the kingdom address unemployment and budget deficits amid weak oil prices.
But the change isn’t completely radical.
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Falih has for years been considered a possible successor to Naimi, who also stepped up to the post of oil minister after heading Aramco.
