The head of Saudi Aramco said on Tuesday that Europe’s plans to cap energy bills for consumers and tax energy companies were not long-term or helpful solutions for the global energy crisis.
Amin Al-Nasser also expressed regret over the continued lack of investment in the oil and gas sector.
“Freezing or capping energy bills might help consumers in the short term, but it does not address the real causes and is not the long-term solution,” Aramco‘s CEO told a forum in Switzerland.
He added that the reactions to the global energy crisis show a misunderstanding of the issue.
“Taxing companies when you want them to increase production is clearly not helpful,” he said.
“Even if the conflict in Ukraine stopped today, the crisis would not end,” he said.
Aramco has been investing to raise the kingdom’s oil capacity to 13 million barrels per day (BPD) by 2027, but Nasser warned that global investments in hydrocarbons were still, “too little, too late, too short term.”
“When the global economy recovers, we can expect demand to rebound further, eliminating the little spare oil production capacity out there,” Nasser said.
“That is why I am seriously concerned.”
