SAUDI ARAMCO’S production reached record level last year with output rising to 3.479 billion barrels, compared with 3.310 billion barrels in 2011.

A statement on Saudi Aramco website says it was the highest production in the company’s history.

It says exports reached 2.521 billion barrels last year, up from 2.421 billion barrels in 2011.

Saudi Aramco manages conventional crude oil reserves of 260.2 billion barrels and gas reserves of 284.8 trillion standard cubic feet.

“In 2012, it produced 3.479 billion barrels of oil, about one in every eight barrels of the world’s crude oil production and the most we have produced in a single year in our history,” the company says.

“Our gas production, in terms of raw gas to gas plants, was 3.924 trillion standard cubic feet, an 8.3 per cent increase from 2011 and also the most in a single year in our history. We also produced 482 million barrels of NGLs, including 82 million barrels of condensate,” Aramco says.

Saudi Aramco and its subsidiaries own or have equity interest in domestic and international refineries with a total worldwide refining capacity of almost 4.5 million barrels per day (mbpd), of which the company’s equity share is 2.4 mbpd, making it the world’s sixth-largest refiner.

In 2012, Aramco increased its refined products production from 495 million barrels in 2011 to 507 million barrels. Exports of Aramco’s refined products also increased by 2.4 per cent to 126 million barrels.

Crude oil exports increased by 100 million barrels to 2.521 billion barrels in 2012, with 53.2 per cent exported to the Far East.

The company says: “In compiling these achievements, we continued to meet our commitments to our customers. Demand for oil and gas products is forecast to grow at a healthy pace supported by abundant resources, and Saudi Aramco continues to significantly contribute to maintaining the global availability of these resources.”

Aramco says it plays a key role in the global economy by maintaining substantial spare crude oil production capacity to contribute stability to worldwide oil prices. Saudi Aramco has grown tremendously during its 80-year history.

Once strictly an oil and gas production company, it has now boosted its refining business and ventured into petrochemicals while exploring renewables.

The Aramco document adds: “With this expansion has come a substantial increase in the complexity of the decisions we must make. Also trending upward in relation to our growth have been volatility, financial market risk, and an increasingly complex domestic development agenda.

“Growth will require changes in how we develop our strategy, for the short and long term alike. Our Strategy Development and Corporate Decision Making Initiative is designed to help us ensure an agile corporate decision-making process that enables us to continue to compete effectively as we grow – across our multiple businesses and in the face of challenges.

“To achieve our 2020 strategic intent, to continue to provide safe and reliable operations, and to execute with excellence and strong controls – we must perform at an even higher level.

“Our multi-billion dollar investments are futile without investing in the skilled workforce to manage and operate them.
“Our goal remains to further develop our people to be the best they can be.”