Saudi Aramco plans strong capital program

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MONTREAL, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Saudi Aramco is planning one of its most ambitious spending efforts in the petroleum industry to meet rising energy demands, a chief executive said in Canada.

Khalid al-Falih, president and chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco, told the World Energy Congress in Montreal that a pragmatic approach to energy was needed to address the expected increase in global energy demands.

He said global progress and development meant that more people would need more energy.

"Consequently, we will have to meet the world's increased energy needs and do so in the most responsible manner," he said in his prepared remarks.

Despite the move toward renewable resources like wind energy, Falih said the world would continue to rely on fossil fuels to power economic development.

With this in mind, the chief executive said his company was planning to spend lavishly to develop the energy that the world needs for sustainable development.

"Over the next five years, we are undertaking perhaps the most ambitious capital program in the petroleum industry, with an increasing proportion of those funds directed to the gas and downstream oil sectors," he said.