Tuesday 27 April 2010

Saudi oil chief fears domestic risk to exports

Saudi Arabia needs to improve the efficiency of its energy use or the kingdom’s oil available for export could fall by as much as 3m barrels per day by 2028, the head of the state oil company has warned.

Khalid al-Falih, chief executive of Saudi Aramco, said domestic energy demand was expected to rise from about 3.4m b/d of oil equivalent last year to about 8.3m b/d of oil equivalent by 2028 – growth of almost 250 per cent.

“We estimate that, through improved efficiency, while maintaining the same economic growth, the increase in energy demand can be cut in half,” Mr Falih said in a recent speech released by Aramco on Monday. “If no efficiency improvements are achieved, and the business is as usual, the oil availability for exports is likely to decline to less than 7m barrels per day by 2028, a fall of 3m barrels per day, while the global demand for our oil will continue to rise.”

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