[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Armin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco, said that global oil demand has almost recovered to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
According to Bloomberg on the 24th (local time), CEO Nasser stated at a press conference held in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, "Oil demand has closely approached pre-pandemic levels," and added, "I expect strong demand to continue going forward."
CEO Nasser's remarks closely align with the views of the International Energy Agency (IEA). As of September last year, the IEA reported that oil demand was approaching 98 million barrels per day, nearly reaching the pre-pandemic global oil demand of 100 million barrels per day. According to the IEA, as COVID-19 spread, global oil demand once dropped to around 83 million barrels per day but has been recovering since the second half of 2020.
Oil prices have also been rising amid the outlook for recovering oil demand. The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures price has increased by 10.8% so far this year.
CEO Nasser stated that oil demand is not decreasing despite rising oil prices. He had previously warned that if Western countries and energy companies drastically reduce fossil fuel usage, oil prices could surge sharply.
With the spread of eco-friendly management, Aramco has recently been reducing non-core assets related to fossil fuels. CEO Nasser said that regardless of oil price increases, Aramco will continue to sell non-core assets.
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