Abdullatif A. Al-Othman, senior vice president of Finance has disclosed that Saudi Aramco's crude production expansion program is well underway, and that growing interdependence and the need for increased collaboration are key factors in deliverability, sustainability and prices. He made these remarks while speaking recently in Washington at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and at the Smithsonian Museum. Al-Othman's lectures were attended by a group of 90 energy experts, analysts, and industry and government representatives. While in Washington for the annual Saudi Aramco Management Development Seminar (SAMDS), Saudi Aramco's top finance executive underscored Saudi Aramco's stabilizing role in world energy markets and the importance of shared energy goals. At the CSIS event, Al-Othman stressed that the challenge facing the global oil industry today is deliverability, not availability. He said the current international market situation has less to do with fundamentals than with the effects of a prolonged period of under-investment all along the petroleum supply chain, combined with geopolitical uncertainty and speculation. Al-Othman gave an overview of market conditions and emphasized that economic prosperity is driving current robust oil demand. --MORE 03/07/2006 10:46 ت م
