Optimistic about the return of demand from China as the economy reopens

Saudi Aramco President and Chief Executive Officer, Amin Al-Nasser, expressed optimism about the return of demand from China with the reopening of the economy and the return of the aviation sector.

Al-Nasser stressed, during his presence at the World Economic Forum in Davos, that companies need to increase investment in oil production, noting that the world needs between 4 to 6 million barrels per day of new production to compensate for the natural decline in existing fields.

Aramco intends to convert four million barrels per day of crude into petrochemicals by the end of the current decade, according to Nasser, who also confirmed that the company is looking for investment opportunities in Chinese refineries and in factories that convert liquids into chemicals.

Al-Nasser said Aramco is also investing billions of dollars in hydrogen and aims to export blue hydrogen made by converting natural gas and capturing the carbon dioxide emitted from it on a large scale starting in 2030.

Nasser estimated the cost of blue hydrogen at $250 per barrel of oil.