Last week, the International Energy Agency said Europe will be at the mercy of heavy oil producers like Saudi Arabia this winter due to a sharp drop in Russian gas imports. US President Joe Biden has also lobbied the Kingdom to increase production.
Mr Nasser warned that capacity was limited as demand picked up after a period of low investment in the industry.
“As Covid restrictions ease in China, that will increase demand… the airline industry will also increase demand,” he said.
Aramco’s second quarter earnings were 90 percent higher than the same period a year earlier and $9 billion more than in the first three months of the year. Second quarter earnings were higher than expected.
The company made $87.9 billion in the first six months of the year, nearly surpassing its pre-pandemic 2019 annual profit.
Aramco will use the money to deleverage and invest in expanding its maximum oil production capacity by one million barrels per day to 13 million.
Peter McNally of Third Bridge said: “Aramco sees growth in all of its businesses – upstream, downstream and renewables – and is investing accordingly.”
The company is looking to partner with partners to invest in carbon capture, renewable energy and hydrogen production as part of its goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions from operations by 2050.
Latest quarterly profits for BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron and TotalEnergies combined totaled $51 billion.
Profits are putting increasing pressure on oil companies as consumers face skyrocketing energy bills heading into winter.
Aramco is almost wholly owned by Saudi Arabia, but it listed its shares on the Saudi stock exchange in 2019allowing investors to buy a stake in the company.
It’s worth about $2.4 trillion, up more than a quarter this year. It kept its dividend unchanged at $18.8 billion.
Mr. McNally said, “Compared to shareholder-controlled global oil companies such as ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron, Saudi Aramco not only has more capital at its disposal but also has more flexibility in deploying it.”