Saudi Aramco CEO Eng. Amin al-Nasser said that oil demand was headed towards recovery, admitting that the oil industry faced one of the most difficult challenges in its history, with global demand in the first part of the second quarter reduced to about 25 million barrels.
“The demand for oil during the first part of the second quarter of 2020 was estimated at 20-25 million barrels per day,” he said, addressing a virtual session organized by the Eastern Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday.
“Every day is better than the day before,” Nasser added.
Despite his assertion that the oil companies are going through difficult conditions as a result of supply and demand, Nasser pointed out that Aramco has raised the production capacity to 12 million barrels per day compared to 11.4 million barrels in 20 days during the coronavirus crisis.
On the impact of the pandemic on business sectors, he said: “Many sectors have been affected, and countries and companies have deliberately postponed or suspended some projects and delayed final decisions regarding some investments and financing.”
But he added: “We are optimistic that the worst of the pandemic is behind us.”
Nasser stressed that Aramco faced great challenges during the sanitary crisis, but pointed to several factors that helped the company overcome the situation, mainly the company’s risk management program.
The Aramco CEO also announced the 60 percent completion of the first phase of King Salman Energy City, which he said would be accomplished in 2021. He estimated the volume of investments in the city at $3.5 billion while the returns to the national economy at about $6 billion, adding that the project would add about 100,000 direct and indirect jobs over the coming 15 years.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Aramco was planning to release its second-quarter earnings on August 9 before the Saudi stock exchange Tadawul opens.
The company will hold a webcast for the Q2 results on August 10 at 1530 local time (1230 GMT), the company said on Monday.
