Saudi Aramco Vice President addresses Energy Security, ties with Japan

Speaking on behalf of Saudi Aramco, Dr. Ibrahim S. Mishari, vice president of Marketing and Supply Planning, gave a crowd of Japanese energy executives, engineers and planners a detailed look into the future to 2030 and beyond with an emphasis on energy security.

"Clearly, energy security as it applies to petroleum is a function of both supply and demand, and the interrelationship between the two is vital," Mishari said. "In fact, the interface between supply and demand is where our industry is facing some of its most pressing challenges, including not only stretched global refining and transportation capacities, but also the mismatch between existing refining configurations and the heavier, sour crude grades that account for much of the world's spare crude production capacity."

Mishari noted that Saudi Aramco is involved in about a quarter of all refinery projects to increase capacity around the world. He said the company is committed to getting the highest quality products to consumers through a series of petroleum increment expansion projects that will bring millions of additional barrels per day to the global energy stream in the coming years.

"The International Energy Agency forecasts that the proportion of fossil fuels in the global energy mix will actually rise from roughly 80 percent to nearly 82 percent over the next 25 years," Mishari said. "Oil and gas alone will account for close to 60 percent of that supply, and as overall energy demand grows, global demand for oil will increase from 83 to 120 million barrels per day during the same 25-year period."

He outlined several endeavors in which Japanese companies are partnering with Saudi Aramco and several future areas in which partnership, expertise and investment may strengthen the amicable bonds between Japan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Mishari drew on some conventional wisdom as sound advice for the future. "The importance of partnership, shared goals and collective security is reflected in an old Arab proverb that says, 'In the desert, the wise man travels by caravan, and only a fool travels alone.' In today's complex market environment, I believe it is essential that we travel the road to the future together, continually enhancing the level of cooperation among our organizations," Mishari said.

"At Saudi Aramco, we think there are many joint opportunities on offer for companies, nongovernmental organizations, research institutions, and other bodies from Japan and elsewhere around the world," he concluded. "Some of these opportunities are already being pursued. Others will come to fruition with time. But all of them can be enhanced in the years and decades to come."