Officials from Saudi Aramco and the Saudi petroleum ministry have frequently reaffirmed at numerous oil industry conferences and meetings that their leading role in supplying the world with crude oil and refined products is undiminished. But beyond the public-relations campaign, the kingdom is taking real action. During the next five years, it is planning to develop additional production from five large oil fields, to increase its sustained productive capacity to12 million barrels per day by 2009-some 3 million barrels more than it is producing today. This represents the largest spending increase to expand production in 25 years, according to Saudi Aramco's 2005 annual report. "In less than five years, [this] will add the rough equivalent of the annual crude oil production of Norway or Venezuela," the company reports. In 2005, the kingdom produced 3.3 billion barrels of oil, or an average 9.1 million barrels per day. It exported some 2.6 billion barrels last year, with 49.7% going to the Far East. It also produced 2.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas or 7.8 billion cubic feet per day. For more on this, see the August issue of Oil and Gas Investor. For a subscription, call 713-260-6441.

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