Saudi Arabia’s state-owned enterprise Aramco has announced that it will be halting its plan to ramp up crude production capacity from 12 million barrels per day (bpd) to 13 million barrels amid concerns over demand this year.
The company wrote in the statement that the authority ordered it to maintain its Maximum Sustainable Capacity (MSC) at current levels. Aramco has been producing crude oil at this level for almost four years since 2020.
The company did not specify further of the season behind that ministry officer ordering it to pause the plan.
Global oil demand is projected to rise by 2.3 million barrels per day in 2023 to 101.7 million barrels, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s annual report.
However, concerns are rising in the market that global demand could be weakening, giving a slower-than-expected recovery in the Chinese economy and the transition to decarbonization.
The energy agency noted that global 4Q23 demand growth has been revised down by almost 400,000 bpd with Europe making up more than half the decline.
