Saudi Aramco's Chief Executive expects rising oil demand in 2021, he said on Sunday, citing Chinese demand approaching pre-pandemic levels while vaccines help other economies to open up.
"We are pleased that there are signs of a recovery," Amin Nasser told an earnings briefing from the Saudi oil giant. "We expect this to continue as governments and authorities around the world reopen economies."
Aramco on Sunday announced its intention to cut capital expenditure after reporting a 44.4% slump in 2020 net profit, hit by lower oil prices and sales as the COVID-19 pandemic depressed demand. It declared a dividend of $75 billion for 2020 and signaled it was seeing pickup in oil demand.
"Looking ahead, our long-term strategy to optimize our oil and gas portfolio is on track and, as the macro environment improves, we are seeing a pick-up in demand in Asia and also positive signs elsewhere," Nasser said in the statement.
He added that Aramco has contingency and emergency response plans in place to deal with any attacks.
He said a refinery in Riyadh, which was attacked on Friday and caught fire, began to be brought back on stream within a few hours.
