Saudi Aramco expects to boost capital expenditure by about 10%

Oil giant Saudi Aramco expects to increase its capital spending budget by almost 10 percent in its next financial year, a senior vice president at the state-owned company said on Thursday.

The plans to increase investment come as Aramco prepares for a much-vaunted international IPO as Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pushes reforms to make the kingdom less reliant on oil.

Aramco’s senior vice president of technical affairs, Ahmad al-Sa’adi, told a business conference on Thursday that the company’s allocation for capital spending in its current financial year is almost SAR350bn ($93.31bn) and would rise by about 10 per cent the following year.

Al-Sa’adi added that the increased spending will provide big opportunities for Saudi businesses looking to increase their involvement in Aramco projects.