Saudi restores oil output after attacks, focused on IPO: Minister
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman says Saudi Arabia’s oil production capacity now stands at 11.3 million barrels per day.
Saudi Arabia has fully restored oil output after attacks on its facilities last month and is now focused on the listing of Saudi Aramco, its energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said.
The kingdom’s oil production capacity now stands at 11.3 million barrels per day, he told an energy conference in Russia on Thursday, adding: “We all rose to the challenge.”
“We have stabilised production capacity, we are at 11.3 … we still have the kit and the tools to overcome any future challenges…”
The comments follow attacks on two major oil production facilities on September 14 that knocked out more than half the production of the world’s top oil-exporting nation, prompting concerns over the global supply of oil as well as the company’s prospects ahead of a highly-anticipated initial public offering (IPO).
The listing of Aramco is the centrepiece of Saudi Arabia’s plans to shake up its economy and diversify away from oil.
Sources familiar with the matter previously told Reuters news agency that Aramco is courting sovereign wealth funds in Abu Dhabi and Singapore, among other territories, in order to achieve a $2 trillion valuation in the domestic leg of its listing.
Bankers from about 20 international and domestic financial institutions are now working on the company’s plan to sell one percent of Aramco in Riyadh before an international sale in 2020 or 2021.