Nasser Aramco says the oil market is tightly balanced – MarketsNews WAALI

DUBAI: Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser said on Sunday that the market would remain balanced in the short to medium term, adding that he was cautiously optimistic.

Nasser was speaking to the press after the Saudi Arabian oil giant reported its highest ever annual profit since the company was listed.

It said spare capacity remains tight at 2 million barrels a day, while demand for jet fuel is increasing alongside China’s reopening of tight restrictions related to the Coronavirus.

“If you consider China opening up and a rise in jet fuels and very limited spare capacity, we’re talking 2 million barrels, so as I said we’re cautiously optimistic in the short to medium term and will the market remains very balanced,” he said. He said.

Saudi Aramco reports a 46% jump in profits for 2022

A deal agreed between Iran and Saudi Arabia on Friday to reestablish ties after years of hostility that had threatened stability and security in the Gulf would have a positive impact on global energy markets as it promotes regional stability, Nasser said.

The kingdom has blamed Iran for missile and drone attacks on its oil facilities in 2019 as well as attacks on tankers in Gulf waters. Iran has denied those accusations.

Aramco’s crude supplies to its main Asian customers, including China and India, were not affected by the increase in Russian sales to Asia on the back of Western sanctions.

“We have a history of maintaining reliability and an excellent customer base. It did not affect our supply to these main markets,” he said.

On recent Russian diesel imports to Saudi Arabia, Nasser said the kingdom has always been importing products for its domestic market since before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Nasser said Aramco is looking globally at liquefied natural gas (LNG) market opportunities, when asked about potential acquisitions in the coming year.

The company is in “active conversations and discussions” regarding LNG investments, he said without elaborating.

Nasser warned that he still did not see enough investment to sustain demand in the long term going into the sector, saying that supply would not be sufficient in the medium to long term if the trend that continues.

“We need to make sure there is additional supply in the market otherwise this tightness in supply in the medium to long term will have an impact.”