Aramco President: Vital Role of Oil, Gas to Continue

Amin Nasser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aramco, arrives to the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Amin Nasser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aramco, arrives to the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
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Aramco President: Vital Role of Oil, Gas to Continue

Amin Nasser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aramco, arrives to the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Amin Nasser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aramco, arrives to the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Amin Nasser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aramco, has called on the world not to disregard investment in the oil and gas industry because it will continue to play a vital role throughout the upcoming decades.

During the first session of Future Investment Initiative on Tuesday, Nasser expressed delight that the kingdom has hosted this huge forum, the first of its kind in the region, which embodies ambitions of Saudi Arabia to be the pioneering investment power worldwide in a way that serves economic diversification.

He added that Aramco is proud of its significant role in achieving the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which encompass supporting economic diversification and the private sector and seeking to become the pioneering global company for energy and petrochemicals.

Aramco techniques focus on facing challenges of climate change and Carbon emissions by developing super clean fuel, he continued, not to mention the company’s efforts to enhance energy sector efficiency through nationalization and expansion in the renewable energy field.

“As the world – and Aramco – focus on technique, innovation and challenges of the future, thinking must be rational and the world must not neglect investment in oil and gas industry because it will continue to play a vital role during the upcoming decades," Nasser stated. 



Oil Prices Stable on Monday as Data Offsets Surplus Concerns

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
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Oil Prices Stable on Monday as Data Offsets Surplus Concerns

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Oil prices stabilized on Monday after losses last week as lower-than-expected US inflation data offset investors' concerns about a supply surplus next year.

Brent crude futures were down by 38 cents, or 0.52%, to $72.56 a barrel by 1300 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 34 cents, or 0.49%, to $69.12 per barrel.

Oil prices rose in early trading after data on Friday that showed cooling US inflation helped alleviate investors' concerns after the Federal Reserve interest rate cut last week, IG markets analyst Tony Sycamore said, Reuters reported.

"I think the US Senate passing legislation to end the brief shutdown over the weekend has helped," he added.

But gains were reversed by a stronger US dollar, UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo told Reuters.

"With the US dollar changing from weaker to stronger, oil prices have given up earlier gains," he said.

The dollar was hovering around two-year highs on Monday morning, after hitting that milestone on Friday.

Brent futures fell by around 2.1% last week, while WTI futures lost 2.6%, on concerns about global economic growth and oil demand after the US central bank signalled caution over further easing of monetary policy. Research from Asia's top refiner Sinopec pointing to China's oil consumption peaking in 2027 also weighed on prices.

Macquarie analysts projected a growing supply surplus for next year, which will hold Brent prices to an average of $70.50 a barrel, down from this year's average of $79.64, they said in a December report.

Concerns about European supply eased on reports the Druzhba pipeline, which sends Russian and Kazakh oil to Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany, has restarted after halting on Thursday due to technical problems at a Russian pumping station.

US President-elect Donald Trump on Friday urged the European Union to increase US oil and gas imports or face tariffs on the bloc's exports.

Trump also threatened to reassert US control over the Panama Canal on Sunday, accusing Panama of charging excessive rates to use the Central American passage and drawing a sharp rebuke from Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino.