Oil & Gas

Aramco CEO Amin Nasser expects oil demand to hold ‘steady’

By Dania Saadi

May 13, 2025, 4:24 PM

Aramco's Amin Nasser at the Saudi GP. On an earnings call this week, he pointed to steady oil demand from China and India

Opportunities with China
US transport demand
Liquids-to-chemicals potential

Saudi Aramco expects demand for oil to be higher this year than in 2024 and to hold “steady”, its CEO has said.

Banks and international agencies have downgraded their forecasts for oil demand and prices in response to heightened trade tensions since April 2.

But Aramco’s Amin Nasser said on an earnings call on Monday: “We expect demand will continue to be steady and growing compared to 2024, and if the whole issue around tariffs is resolved … that also will add to additional demand that we are seeing from the market.

“We are seeing steady demand that is coming from China and from India.”

Although oil prices have picked up since the start of this month, with Brent crude trading on Tuesday at about $65 per barrel, they are still at four-year lows.

The US and China agreed this week to a 90-day lowering of mutual tariffs as they seek to de-escalate tensions that threaten to throttle trade between them.

Aramco customers have not reduced their purchases, and the company sees “strong” demand from the transport sector, particularly in the US, as well as the aviation industry and liquids-to-chemicals projects, according to Nasser.

“We have more pick-up in transportation in the US as a result of lower prices,” he said. “China presents great opportunities because China is 50 percent of the chemical [market] and they are looking for self-sufficiency by 2027.”

Aramco wants to be able to convert at least 4 million barrels per day of its crude production capacity to chemicals by 2030, in order to fetch higher revenue rather than selling refined products.

It is almost halfway there thanks to its projects in Asia, particularly joint ventures in China.

The company wants to pursue more deals in liquids-to-chemicals and is maintaining its $52 billion-$58 billion capital spending guidance for 2025.

“We have a number [of deals] currently under evaluation in the pipeline in different markets,” Nasser said. “We are disciplined, and discipline means we capture opportunities during low cycles, so we are maintaining our guidance.”