April 2009 Vol. 236 No. 4

Projects

Aramco To Spend $60 billion On Projects

State oil company Saudi Aramco plans to spend $60 billion on oil and gas projects through 2014.

Turmoil in world credit markets and tumbling crude prices have prompted energy companies globally to review their more expensive projects or cut back on spending to preserve liquidity. Aramco plans 144 projects until 2014, including eight “giant” projects.

ConocoPhillips said it will likely make an investment decision on its Yanbu joint venture refinery in Saudi Arabia. CP and Aramco halted bidding on construction of the planned 400,000-bpd refinery in November, citing uncertainties in the financial markets. Conoco said the delay on the project would likely help drive down its construction costs, which had soared as oil prices ran past $147 a barrel in July 2008. Those costs had been estimated in 2006 at $6 billion.