Saudi Arabia plans to build a shipbuilding complex on its eastern coast to support its oil exports.
KSA, the largest oil-producing nation in the world, plans to build a maritime complex on its east coast with shipbuilding capability to provide sufficient capacity for exporting oil, Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih announced on July 17.
Al-Falih, quoted by Bloomberg, said that eventually the oil-rich country plans to have a shipping fleet that will support its oil exports, as oil prices increased by over 70% after touching a 12-year low earlier this year.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) expects demand for its oil to rise to approximately 33 million barrels a day in 2017 – 142,000 a day more than in June.
Kuwait’s acting oil minister Anas Al-Saleh had said last week as demand rises, crude oil will increase anywhere between $50 to $60 a barrel until at least 2018.
Earlier this week, National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) said on Sunday it signed a deal with Arab Petroleum Investments Corp (APICORP) to launch a $1.5 billion investment fund that could buy up to 15 very large crude carriers (VLCCs).
