Saudi Aramco Sees Growing Cushion of Light Crude Oil

Outlining Saudi Arabia’s plans to boost crude oil output in coming years, Khalid Al-Falih, senior vice president for gas operations at state-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co., said Tuesday the kingdom will concentrate on producing more light crude varieties while investing little in medium or heavy grades.

Aramco expects to increase production to 12.5 million barrels a day by 2009, up from the current production rate of 11 million barrels a day, in an effort to maintain a cushion of spare capacity above and beyond world demand.

That cushion will “include a lot more light crude,” Al-Falih said.
Schlumberger