Aramco CEO Says He’s Bullish on China After Stimulus Roll-Out

(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Aramco is bullish on China’s oil consumption after the government introduced a raft of stimulus measures aimed at reviving Asia’s biggest economy, Chief Executive Officer Amin H. Nasser said.

Demand for jet fuel is a bright spot for the nation, said Nasser, who was speaking at the Singapore International Energy Week conference on Monday. He also reiterated Aramco’s aim to increase its liquids-to-chemical capacity to 4 million barrels a day, with a focus on China.

“China is a great market, we are investing with our partners,” he said, adding the firm has a number of investments in the pipeline.

Nasser’s comments come as other market commentators forecast that China’s demand for fuels like gasoline to diesel has already peaked or will be peaking soon, backed by the nation’s rapid electrification of its passenger vehicle fleet. In recent months, parts of the country’s trucking sector have also seen a jump in orders for commercial vehicles that run on liquefied natural gas, paving the way for the cleaner-burning fuel to displace some oil demand in that sector. 

Despite that, Aramco sees global oil demand at more than 100 million barrels per day through 2050, Nasser said, citing significant growth in the global south as economies expand and living standards rise. Worldwide daily consumption is expected to hit 104.5 million barrels this year, based on Aramco’s forecasts, higher than an estimate by the International Energy Agency at 102.8 million barrels.

“Most analysts agree that even when the growth in global oil demand stops at some point, no abrupt drop in overall demand is anticipated, and that stage is likely to be followed by a long plateau,” he said. “Rather than an energy transition, we are really talking about energy addition.”

The IEA said last week that demand for all fossil fuels will stop growing within this decade as the world enters the “Age of Electricity”.

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