Saudi Arabia could invest $50 billion this year to boost oil capacity

Dubai Saudi Arabia's state oil company Aramco, under pressure from the West to boost output amid soaring prices, pledged on Sunday to hike investments by around 50% this year as it reported a doubling in 2021 profits.

Oil prices leapt 50% last year as demand recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, and then surged above $100 a barrel to 14-year highs in February after Russia invaded Ukraine, leading Western nations to urge major producers to increase output

Aramco said it would boost its capital expenditure (capex) to $40-50 billion this year, with further growth expected until around the middle of the decade. Capex was $31.9 billion last year, up 18% from 2020 — indicating an increase of about 50% for this year at the middle of the guidance range.

Asked if Aramco would pump more oil to fill any gaps in the market left by the war in Ukraine, CEO Amin Nasser said it would produce according to guidelines from the Saudi energy ministry.

The company has said it plans to raise its crude oil "maximum sustainable capacity" to 13 million barrels a day by 2027, and wants to increase gas production by more than 50% by 2030. Its average hydrocarbon production was 12.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day last year.