Saudi Aramco plans to invest at least SAR 450 billion in oil, gas and petrochemical projects over the next 5 to 6 years.

According to Mr Khalid Al Falih CEO of Saudi Aramco, investment will be directed into new gas and oil plant to meet growing energy demand, as well as new facilities enabling the continued development of petrochemical production. To cope with rising demand, world oil production is likely to rise by a million barrels a day each year between now and 2030.

Mr Al Falih said that some USD 60 billion of Saudi Aramco's total investment will be spent in the oil sector on projects including new refinery and petrochemical capacity in Jubail, Yanbu, Rabigh and Ras Tanura. The country has recently taken steps to raise production capacity and provide a larger buffer to cope with fluctuating global oil demand and supply hiccups.

He said that Saudi Arabia has long been one of the few countries capable of increasing oil production by any significant margin over a short period. The additional investment will raise the country's capacity from today's 12.5m barrels a day to cope with additional demand from China, India and the Middle East.