By: ICN Bureau
Last updated : March 23, 2021 1:11 pm
The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) announced its full year 2020 results and is planning a Capex of US $35 billion in 2021.
The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) announced its full year 2020 results and is planning a Capex of US $35 billion in 2021.
Capital expenditure in 2020 was US $27 billion due to the implementation of optimization and efficiency programs, representing a significant saving on capital expenditure of US $33 billion in 2019. The company continues to assess its capital expenditure and efficiency programs, and expects capital expenditure for 2021 to be around US $35 billion, significantly lower than the previous guidance of US $40-$45 billion.
Commenting on 2020 results, Aramco President & CEO Amin H. Nasser said, “As the enormous impact of COVID-19 was felt throughout the global economy, we intensified our strong emphasis on capital and operational efficiencies. As a result, our financial position remained robust and we declared a dividend of US $75 billion for 2020."
“At the same time, the accelerated deployment of digital technologies across the company significantly enhanced our performance and we continued to make progress on breakthrough low-carbon solutions," commented Naseer.
“Looking ahead, our long-term strategy to optimize our oil and gas portfolio is on track and, as the macro environment improves, we are seeing a pick-up in demand in Asia and also positive signs elsewhere. We remain confident that we will emerge on the other side of this pandemic in a position of strength,” added Naseer.
Aramco declared a dividend of US $75 billion for the year, which reflects the outcome of the company’s strong performance. The company continues to preserve a strong balance sheet and its gearing ratio at December 31, 2020, was among the lowest in its industry. Meanwhile, its ROACE of 13.2% was the highest in the industry.
In 2020, Aramco’s average hydrocarbon production was 12.4 million barrels per day of oil equivalent, including 9.2 million barrels per day (mmbpd) of crude oil. The company achieved another milestone in August, producing a single-day record of 10.7 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscfd) of natural gas from its conventional and unconventional fields.
Aramco’s ambition to further expand its downstream business took a significant step forward with the acquisition of a majority stake in SABIC in June, transforming the company into a major global petrochemical player with operations in more than 50 countries. In 2020, Aramco also announced a downstream reorganization intended to maximize value from its global network of assets.