Aramco looks to China, India to support oil markets

Aramco’s chief executive Amin Nasser believes oil market fundamentals remain broadly “solid” for the rest of the year. Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco is expecting oil markets to be bullish for the rest of 2023 as demand from major importers China and India is forecast to be strong despite an expected global downturn. “We believe oil market fundamentals remain broadly solid for the rest of the year,” Chief Executive Amin Nasser told the Energy Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The optimism comes despite China, the world’s biggest oil importer, showing signs of slowing growth and prompting several cuts to the country’s key lending rate. “Despite recession risks in many OECD countries, the economies of developing countries, particularly China and India, are increasing oil demand by more than 2 million bpd this year,” Nasser said. He predicted that the industry’s supply-demand balance is likely to tighten as the global economy begins to recover. "While China is facing some economic headwinds, the transportation and petrochemical sectors are still showing signs of demand growth," the CEO added.