Aramco Announces Reduction of Planned Maximum Capacity to 12 Million Barrels Per Day

Saudi Aramco announced today, Tuesday, that it has been requested to reduce its planned maximum capacity for sustainable oil production to 12 million barrels per day, down from 13 million barrels per day. The state-owned oil company in the kingdom stated that it received guidance from the Ministry of Energy to maintain its sustainable maximum capacity at 12 million barrels per day and not to continue increasing it to 13 million barrels per day. The Ministry of Energy had requested Aramco to ramp up its maximum production capacity to 13 million barrels per day back in March 2020 amid a confrontation with Russia at that time regarding market share. Riyadh and Moscow resumed cooperation in May 2020 concerning production levels through the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia and its allies, including Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, which continues to coordinate production. The price of Brent crude rose by about 0.5 percent following Aramco's announcement, reaching $82.78.