Saudi Aramco CEO: Don’t write off oil just yet

The role of oil as a vital source of energy to the world is expected to continue for the long term despite the growth of alternatives, said Amin H. Nasser, President and CEO of Saudi Aramco.

At the World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul on Monday, Nasser reiterated in a keynote to heads of state, government ministers, and executives that new investments were necessary and crucial to ensuring global energy security.

Nasser offered insights on the future of energy and how Saudi Aramco was transforming to meet new economic realities and industry demands.

Noting historic trends, the Saudi Aramco CEO predicted in the next 25 years a doubling of the world economy, plus an additional two billion energy consumers, resulting in a lengthy energy transition that alternative sources such as renewables cannot adequately support.

“There’s a growing belief that the world can prematurely disengage from proven, reliable energy sources like oil and gas, on the assumption that alternatives will rapidly deploy,” Nasser said. “About $1 trillion in investments has been lost in the current downturn, concurrent to growing oil demand and the natural decline of developed fields. Conservative estimates suggest we need about 20 million [additional] barrels per day over the next five years to counter these effects.”

The volume of conventional oil discovered around the world halved over the past four years, according to Nasser, leading to an investment shortfall and the start of a cycle that may inhibit a future energy transition.

The Saudi Aramco boss identified three key areas that can build resilience for the transition. Namely, he underlined available supplies, cost structure and portfolio integration, and emissions reduction.

Addressing supplies, he said: “Saudi Aramco plans to invest more than $300 billion over the coming decade to reinforce our preeminent position in oil, maintain our spare oil production capacity and pursue a large exploration and production program centered on conventional and unconventional gas resources.”

Saudi Aramco’s CEO also emphasized the company’s commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement by making oil and gas ultra-clean.

“We aim to double our natural gas production to 23 billion standard cubic feet per day (scf/d) over the coming decade, and raise the share of gas in the Kingdom’s utilities to about 70 percent, the highest of any G20 nation,” Nasser said. “We have collaborated with many oil and gas companies to promote low-emission solutions, to include our commitment to the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative’s $1 billion investment fund to develop and rapidly deploy those technologies.”

Nasser concluded that while the industry can take pride in a history of significant economic contributions, it must adopt a future strategy calculated for the energy transformation.

“Industry leaders and policymakers must develop an aligned and compelling narrative to attract the level of investments we need,” he said. “Part of that effort will be transforming our business model to ensure that oil and gas are not just proven, reliable energy sources, but are as clean and affordable as possible, without compromising the world’s energy security,” he said.