Aramco to recover production by end of September
Saudi Aramco
reiterated its commitment by the end of the month to return manufacturing to
its complete capacity.
It will restore 5.7
million barrels per day, the quantity knocked out by latest assaults on the oil
installations of the kingdom, said Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser.
“We will continue
to fulfill our mission of providing the energy the world needs,” Nasser said in
a message to employees commemorating Saudi Arabia’s national day. Aramco hasn’t
missed any customer shipments, he said, according to Gulf News.
The attack by
drones and missiles disabled 5% of global supply, and was the single-biggest
sudden disruption to oil markets on record. There’s concern among traders over
how long it will take the world’s biggest crude exporter to fully restore lost
production as it depletes inventories to meet supply commitments and operates
without its usual buffer of spare capacity.
Brent rose 6.7% in
the five days through Friday, the largest weekly gain since January, while West
Texas Intermediate oil registered the biggest weekly rise since June.
Donald Trump’s administration has blamed Iran for the attack
and responded by imposing further sanctions on Tehran. The U.S. also revealed
plans to send a “moderate” number of American troops to the Middle East and
additional missile defense capabilities to Saudi Arabia.
While Saudi Arabia said the attacks were “unquestionably
sponsored by Iran,” it stopped short of saying the strikes were launched
directly from or by Iran.