During US President Joseph Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia, the world was so focused on how to respond to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s demand for a spike in oil production that they missed the scoop: the level at which Saudi Arabian oil production would peak.
This is much lower than many expected. This is lower than the Saudis think. And while the world continues to need fossil fuels, this is fraught with long-term problems for the global economy.
Saudi oil ministers and members of the royal family have overlooked one of the most important questions facing the energy market for years: what is the long-term cap on the kingdom’s oil fields? The assumption was that they could always pump more and longer; If the Saudis knew the answer, they kept it secret. And then, almost on Saturday, Prince Mohammed announced that the final maximum capacity is 13 million barrels per day.
Prince Mohammed framed his response by emphasizing that the world, not just countries like Saudi Arabia, must invest in fossil fuel production over the next two decades to meet growing global demand and avoid energy shortages.
“The kingdom will do its part as it has announced that it has increased its production capacity to 13 million barrels per day, after which the kingdom will have no additional capacity to increase production,” he said.
Previously Public News Service He said Russia had been the leader in oil supplies to China for two months.