Aramco sees ‘healthy’ oil demand growth of 1.5 million b/d this year

Saudi Aramco’s CEO Amin Nasser said on March 10 that he expects oil demand growth to average 1.5 million b/d in 2024 and be “robust” in 2025.

“With regard to the oil demand, we expect the global oil market to remain healthy over the remainder of this year and we expect it to be fairly robust,” he said. “We’re looking at a growth of about 1.5 million b/d,” he told reporters during a call to discuss the company’s 2023 full-year financial results.

Demand was expected to be 102.4 million b/d in 2023 and “we’re looking at 104 million b/d for 2024 with more growth expected in 2025,” he said.

Aramco’s forecast for global oil demand growth is less bullish than OPEC, which said in its February oil market report that demand would grow 2.2 million b/d this year. OPEC anticipates global demand to reach 104.40 million b/d in 2024.

Aramco’s view of demand is only slightly more optimistic than the International Energy Agency, which in February forecast oil demand growth of 1.2 milion b/d in 2024, down from from 2.3 million b/d last year.

“The expansive post-pandemic growth phase in global oil demand has largely run its course,” the Paris-based agency said at the time.

Nasser said that supply and demand would be “in reasonable balance during the remainder of the year”.

The company, which cancelled a long-standing plan in January to raise maximum sustainable capacity by 1 million b/d to 13 million b/d by 2027, remains ready to meet market demand requirements, if needed.

“We are ready and able to react to market opportunities and if we’re called to increase our MSC, we’ll be ready for that,” Nasser said.