JEDDAH: Saudi Aramco’s exports to major Asian markets increased “substantially” last year from a year earlier, with shipments to India jumping 18 percent. Exports to China grew 4.5 percent.
The company said it was able to maintain the same level of exports to US market at 1 million barrels a day “despite competition from shale oil.”
The company expanded its geographical sales area and opened new markets last year in the Baltic, according to an annual review posted on Saudi Aramco website.
It said that Aramco also enhanced its role as a supplier through increasing sales of spot cargoes to its customers in Asia and Europe last year from its storage facilities in Okinawa and Rotterdam.
“Expanding oil and gas supplies to meet the needs of domestic and international markets is at the core of Saudi Aramco’s business, and in 2015 the company delivered on its commitments, reaching record levels of oil production and gas processing,” Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Khalid Al-Falih said in the review.
“By any standard, 2015 was a challenging year for the global energy industry. With an oversupplied market and a sluggish world economy, the price of oil fell by more than 60 percent from the previous year’s high. In addition, sustainability — and in particular climate change — rose to the top of the global agenda,” he added.
“Sustained investments in technology and innovation are essential to ensuring future energy accessibility, reliability, and sustainability. Saudi Aramco’s expanding network of global R&D centers and technology offices is dedicated to meeting the world’s shared energy challenges,” stated Al-Falih.
The push to become a technology leader is complemented by the company’s promotion of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills among the nation’s youth, spurring the growth of a knowledge-based society, he said.
The Kingdom’s commitment to sustainable development was underscored by Saudi Aramco’s exhibition of greenhouse gas management technologies at the UN’s Climate Change Conference in Paris. The company, along with other energy companies in the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, issued an unprecedented declaration pledging practical action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser said: “Our achievements in 2015 are the direct result of the hard work and commitment of our people, an effort deeply appreciated by the entire management team. The men and women of Saudi Aramco are firmly dedicated to the resolution that energy is opportunity — a promise we are proud to honor to our customers, partners, and stakeholders every day.”
In his foreword to the review, the CEO also said: “From achieving our highest level of crude oil production on record, commencing operations at our Sadara joint venture with The Dow Chemical Company, and the startup of our Wasit Gas Plant, to the launch of two new branches of our global research network in Beijing and Detroit, our successes reflected Saudi Aramco’s dual commitment to help ensure global energy security and bolster the Kingdom’s economic growth.”
The annual review stated that Saudi Aramco steadily continued its journey last year toward becoming the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals company.
“We responded to the unsettled business climate on numerous fronts, optimizing capital expenditures, deferring low-priority projects, and lowering our direct controllable costs — without diminishing our determination to deliver on our strategic vision.”
The report added: “It has been an extraordinarily challenging year, but one filled with equally extraordinary accomplishments made possible by the resolve and ingenuity of our people. The success we achieved attests to the leadership and resiliency we have always demonstrated in times of adversity. Our leadership position is not something we aspire to for its own sake — it is the result of our determination to advance the enduring success of our industry, our company, and Saudi Arabia.”
The oil giant said: “Our relentless efforts to expand the Kingdom’s oil and gas reserves sustain our capability to meet future energy needs, at home and around the world.”
The company said its pursuit of unconventional gas continued to gather momentum in 2015 as we invested considerable resources to find and produce gas from shale and tight gas formations. The target areas for our unconventional gas program are in northern Saudi Arabia and the greater Ghawar area, including the Jafurah Basin. Aramco acquired 138 billion seismic traces in these three areas and completed an ambitious slate of exploration, appraisal, and production wells.
“We deployed a range of new technologies and applied lessons learned from within the industry to accelerate our progress. New technologies include seismic imaging to identify “sweet” spots in reservoirs, extended reach horizontal wells to improve reservoir contact, multistage fracture stimulation, and underbalanced coiled tubing drilling to tap into productive layers,” the review added.
It said: “Multistage fracturing in horizontal wells, for example, enables higher sustained gas rates, transforming low producing wells to commercially viable assets. Rigorous simulation modeling empowers our engineers to improve completion and simulation practices, and optimize well placement and spacing to attain higher well productivity. The entire process chain employs integrated teams of petroleum engineers and geoscientists who collaborate to ensure every link in the chain, from exploration through to delineation, development planning, facility construction, installation, commissioning, startup, and production, is completed safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively.”
Gas from Saudi Aramco’s discoveries in northern Saudi Arabia will be delivered to the Maaden facilities at Wa’ad Al Shamaal by the end of 2017 when the facilities will be ready to receive gas.
Additional gas for small and medium industrial businesses will be supplied by 2018, fueling the growth of new employment opportunities for Saudi nationals in the region.
“In addition to our continued success in expanding the Kingdom’s conventional gas reserves, our growing ability to find and produce unconventional gas broadens the use of gas as a cleaner fuel for power generation and seawater desalination, and as feedstock for diversified industries, spurring economic growth and freeing up more crude oil for value-added refining or export,” the company’s review added.
The company said it was able to maintain the same level of exports to US market at 1 million barrels a day “despite competition from shale oil.”
The company expanded its geographical sales area and opened new markets last year in the Baltic, according to an annual review posted on Saudi Aramco website.
It said that Aramco also enhanced its role as a supplier through increasing sales of spot cargoes to its customers in Asia and Europe last year from its storage facilities in Okinawa and Rotterdam.
“Expanding oil and gas supplies to meet the needs of domestic and international markets is at the core of Saudi Aramco’s business, and in 2015 the company delivered on its commitments, reaching record levels of oil production and gas processing,” Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Khalid Al-Falih said in the review.
“By any standard, 2015 was a challenging year for the global energy industry. With an oversupplied market and a sluggish world economy, the price of oil fell by more than 60 percent from the previous year’s high. In addition, sustainability — and in particular climate change — rose to the top of the global agenda,” he added.
“Sustained investments in technology and innovation are essential to ensuring future energy accessibility, reliability, and sustainability. Saudi Aramco’s expanding network of global R&D centers and technology offices is dedicated to meeting the world’s shared energy challenges,” stated Al-Falih.
The push to become a technology leader is complemented by the company’s promotion of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills among the nation’s youth, spurring the growth of a knowledge-based society, he said.
The Kingdom’s commitment to sustainable development was underscored by Saudi Aramco’s exhibition of greenhouse gas management technologies at the UN’s Climate Change Conference in Paris. The company, along with other energy companies in the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, issued an unprecedented declaration pledging practical action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser said: “Our achievements in 2015 are the direct result of the hard work and commitment of our people, an effort deeply appreciated by the entire management team. The men and women of Saudi Aramco are firmly dedicated to the resolution that energy is opportunity — a promise we are proud to honor to our customers, partners, and stakeholders every day.”
In his foreword to the review, the CEO also said: “From achieving our highest level of crude oil production on record, commencing operations at our Sadara joint venture with The Dow Chemical Company, and the startup of our Wasit Gas Plant, to the launch of two new branches of our global research network in Beijing and Detroit, our successes reflected Saudi Aramco’s dual commitment to help ensure global energy security and bolster the Kingdom’s economic growth.”
The annual review stated that Saudi Aramco steadily continued its journey last year toward becoming the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals company.
“We responded to the unsettled business climate on numerous fronts, optimizing capital expenditures, deferring low-priority projects, and lowering our direct controllable costs — without diminishing our determination to deliver on our strategic vision.”
The report added: “It has been an extraordinarily challenging year, but one filled with equally extraordinary accomplishments made possible by the resolve and ingenuity of our people. The success we achieved attests to the leadership and resiliency we have always demonstrated in times of adversity. Our leadership position is not something we aspire to for its own sake — it is the result of our determination to advance the enduring success of our industry, our company, and Saudi Arabia.”
The oil giant said: “Our relentless efforts to expand the Kingdom’s oil and gas reserves sustain our capability to meet future energy needs, at home and around the world.”
The company said its pursuit of unconventional gas continued to gather momentum in 2015 as we invested considerable resources to find and produce gas from shale and tight gas formations. The target areas for our unconventional gas program are in northern Saudi Arabia and the greater Ghawar area, including the Jafurah Basin. Aramco acquired 138 billion seismic traces in these three areas and completed an ambitious slate of exploration, appraisal, and production wells.
“We deployed a range of new technologies and applied lessons learned from within the industry to accelerate our progress. New technologies include seismic imaging to identify “sweet” spots in reservoirs, extended reach horizontal wells to improve reservoir contact, multistage fracture stimulation, and underbalanced coiled tubing drilling to tap into productive layers,” the review added.
It said: “Multistage fracturing in horizontal wells, for example, enables higher sustained gas rates, transforming low producing wells to commercially viable assets. Rigorous simulation modeling empowers our engineers to improve completion and simulation practices, and optimize well placement and spacing to attain higher well productivity. The entire process chain employs integrated teams of petroleum engineers and geoscientists who collaborate to ensure every link in the chain, from exploration through to delineation, development planning, facility construction, installation, commissioning, startup, and production, is completed safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively.”
Gas from Saudi Aramco’s discoveries in northern Saudi Arabia will be delivered to the Maaden facilities at Wa’ad Al Shamaal by the end of 2017 when the facilities will be ready to receive gas.
Additional gas for small and medium industrial businesses will be supplied by 2018, fueling the growth of new employment opportunities for Saudi nationals in the region.
“In addition to our continued success in expanding the Kingdom’s conventional gas reserves, our growing ability to find and produce unconventional gas broadens the use of gas as a cleaner fuel for power generation and seawater desalination, and as feedstock for diversified industries, spurring economic growth and freeing up more crude oil for value-added refining or export,” the company’s review added.
