Saudi Arabian state oil giant Aramco is betting on an Asian-led rebound in energy demand this year after it reported a steep slide in net profit for 2020 on Sunday and scaled back its spending plans.
The COVID-19 pandemic took a heavy toll on the company and its global peers in 2020, but oil prices have rallied this year as economies recover from last year’s downturn and after oil producers extended output cuts.
“We are pleased that there are signs of a recovery,” Aramco CEO Amin Nasser told an earnings call. “China is also very close to pre-pandemic levels. So in Asia, East Asia in particular, there is strong pickup in demand.”
He said demand in Europe and United States would improve with more deployment of vaccines. Global oil demand is expected to reach 99 million barrels per day by the end of this year, he said.
Aramco lowered its guidance for capital expenditure in 2021 to around $35 billion from a range of $40 billion to $45 billion previously, according to a disclosure to the kingdom’s Tadawul bourse. Capital spending in 2020 was $27 billion.
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