Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil-exporting company, plans to complete an increase in daily oil-production capacity to 13 million barrels per day from 12 million by 2027, according to its chief executive.
“The full capacity will be available by 2027 but it will come in increments,” Amin Nasser told the Energy Intelligence Forum, an online conference, on Monday.
To achieve the 13 million bpd capacity, “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”.
Mr Nasser said that demand for oil is rising amid tighter natural gas supplies globally, as well as a fall in surplus oil inventories.
“There is some shift that we have seen from gas to liquids, especially in certain markets in Asia, and that impacts oil demand by almost half a million barrels.
“The surplus inventories are behind us right now, down more than 10 per cent from the five-year average so overall the demand is very healthy,” he added.
Oil prices rallied on Monday after Opec+ said it will stick to its original plan to increase production by 400,000 barrels per day of supply for November. Improved economic demand amid relaxing movement restrictions has also supported crude prices. Brent, the global benchmark, was trading above $81 per barrel on Monday, while West Texas Intermediate, the key gauge for US oil, was trading at $77.76 per barrel — the highest level since 2014.
Mr Nasser also said the investment was “prematurely cut” in the oil and gas industry due to pressure from shareholders and investors and several producers are “fidgeting away” from the sector.
“The net effect is lower supply and I am concerned that this will continue for the foreseeable future,” he said.
He also urged the industry to transition responsibly in a quest to not affect the supply.
“The bigger issue is they are related to energy transition and the industry supports the transition to have a better and cleaner source of energy but the transition must ensure there are reliable supplies of energy and also people can afford them at the same time.”
“There is a need for orderly transition. Pragmatic energy policies are needed and hasty decisions must be avoided as much as possible in order to get back to normality of the business.”
Publicly-listed oil majors around the world have come under increasing pressure from activist investors, governments, courts and large institutional investors that promote Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) standards to reduce their carbon footprint and transition to clean energy.
ExxonMobil earlier this year lost three of its board seats to small activist investor Engine No. 1, which had been pressing the company to cut emissions.
Royal Dutch Shell was also ordered by a Netherlands court to slash its emissions harder and faster than planned.
Saudi Aramco will focus on building blue hydrogen projects in line with demand worldwide, Mr Nasser said.
“The scale [of the projects] will all depend on demand,” he said.
“Clean hydrogen will cost much more than a barrel of oil equivalent or a barrel of gas equivalent so the market needs to develop for companies like Saudi Aramco and other companies to develop projects at scale.”
“We do have the interest, we do have the capacity to do that but right now we are working with our customers in different markets to see the appetite for these scaled projects.”
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
