CERAWeek: Saudi Aramco gas output to rise 60% by 2030

Aramco recently halted plans to expand oil output capacity and is focused on developing unconventional gas fields similar to US shale fields in the kingdom.

The company has also said it is looking at opportunities to invest in liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects abroad.

Aramco CEO on energy transition

Ghazzawi’s statement on the projected output increase comes a days after Aramco CEO Amin Nasser emphatically said that global oil demand will not peak for some time so policy makers need to ensure sufficient investment in oil and gas to meet consumption and abandon the fantasy of phasing out fossil fuels. 

Oil demand will reach a new record of 104 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, Nasser said at the start of the CERAWeek conference in the US. Despite growing investment, alternative energy has yet to displace hydrocarbons at scale, Nasser said.

“All this strengthens the view that peak oil and gas is unlikely for some time to come, let alone 2030,” he said.

“We should abandon the fantasy of phasing out oil and gas, and instead invest in them adequately, reflecting realistic demand assumptions, as long as essential,” he added, in remarks that drew applause from the audience.

Rising demand from developing economies could feed oil demand growth through 2045, he said.

This forecast for long-term demand growth was in line with forecasts from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and in contrast to the 2030 forecast for peak demand from the West’s energy watchdog, the International Energy Agency (IEA).