Pressure to pump: Saudi Aramco struggles to boost oil production

No encounter between the US president, George W Bush, and King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia in recent years has been complete without a plea from the American leader for OPEC to furnish more oil to the world market in the interest of moderating prices. Mr Bush’s mid-January visit to an unusually chilly Saudi Arabia was no exception, and, according to the White House press secretary, Dana Perino, King Abdullah showed some sympathy, expressing concern about the impact of rising oil prices on the world economy. Saudi Arabia is doing its best to ensure that there is sufficient new production capacity coming on stream to keep pace with the anticipated 1-2% annual increases in demand. However, Saudi Aramco, in common with most other major oil companies, whether national or international, is facing mounting difficulty in completing new oilfield projects on time and within budget.


It is not too often that Saudi Aramco announces a delay in project start-up. Thus, when it said that it was not yet ready to bring on stream the 500,000-barrel/day Khursaniyah oil field development, some eyebrows were raised. All major contracts on the estimated US$6bn project