World's largest oil company warns of shortages and says renewables are keeping investors away

The head of what is the world's largest oil company,  Aramco  , used the World Economic Forum in Davos to warn that  the world faces a severe shortage of oil  because "most companies are afraid to invest in the sector by the pressures of green energy".

Meanwhile, the Saudi state oil company spent 38,000 million euros in the first quarter of the year,  increasing its profit by 82%.

Amin Nasser, president of the oil company Aramco, announced  that he could not increase production capacity faster than promised  , keeping the objective of increasing the capacity to 13 million barrels per day (one million more than current capacity).

The return to normal reactivates industries such as aeronautics, which is now experiencing an increase in demand for flights. Something that Aramco considers unsustainable in the long term.

"The world is running on less than 2% spare capacity. Before Covid, the aviation industry was consuming 2.5 million barrels per day more than it is today. If the aviation industry picks up speed, it's going to have a big problem," Nasser told Reuters.

Record profits amid energy crisis

Photo : Aramco.

In the meantime, the oil company has signed very good figures. High crude oil prices , volumes sold and better marketing margins helped  Aramco increase its profits in the first quarter of the year by 82%  , compared to the same period in 2021.

On the strength of these results, the company says in a press release that it has achieved "record" quarterly income since its IPO in 2019.

“Energy security is vital and we are investing for the long term, expanding our oil and gas production capacity to meet projected demand growth,” Nasser said in the earnings note, also alluding to low costs. extraction.

The oil company has also recently started collaborations with the automotive world.

One is the partnership with Hyundai Motor Group and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology to jointly research and develop advanced fuel for hybrid electric vehicles.

Photo : Aramco.

Another with Formula 1 team Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant to achieve the goal of sustainable fuels in Formula 1, as well as the development of fuel-efficient engine technologies for road vehicles and more efficient hybrid engines in motorsports .