Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, patronized here today the inauguration ceremony of oil production factories, one of Saudi Aramco's gigantic projects.
The Crown Prince was accompanied by Prince Miteb bin Abdulaziz, the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Prince Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, the Chief of General Intelligence.
Upon arrival at the venue, the Crown Prince was received by Prince Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, the Governor of the Eastern Region; Prince Mishari bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Undersecretary of the National Guard for the Eastern Sector; Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources; Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Assistant Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources for Petroleum Affairs; Prince Faisal bin Turki bin Abdulaziz, Advisor at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources; and a number of officials.
A speech ceremony was held on this occasion.
Addressing the ceremony, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (who is also Chairman of Aramco's Board of Directors) said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become the most important oil country in the world, noting that the Saudi economy is rated as one of the biggest among 25 economies in the world.
Al-Naimi pointed to the Kingdom's continual contribution to the stability and growth of the world economy shown by its keenness to maintain a balance between supply and demand in the world oil market and its commitment to stability of oil prices within an appropriate range that benefits producing countries, does not harm oil consumers or the world economy, and does not affect negatively the oil industry and the role of oil as a major source of energy.
The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources noted that the Kingdom's proven and productive oil reserves now reach nearly 261 billion barrels, representing approximately one-fourth of the world reserves, adding that there are great opportunities to raise the Kingdom's productive oil reserves by nearly 200 billion barrels through new discoveries or an increase in the rate of oil that can be produced from known underground sources.
Al-Naimi indicated that the current activities include the attraction of foreign and national investments to establish oil refineries in the Kingdom for exportation and local consumption and the attraction of national and foreign investments in the field of energy services such drilling, engineering and equipment manufacturing.
He disclosed that the Kingdom will be one of the pioneering countries in the industries of fertilizers and Aluminum in the next few years.
In his speech Aramco's President and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Salih Juma'a shed light on the stages of executing the project.
Starting the project's operation, the Crown Prince said it will be for the service of Islam, Muslims, Arab and Muslim nations and all over the world.
Then, the Crown Prince graced a banquet held in his honor. The ceremony and the party were attended by a number of princes; Omar Sulaiman, Minister at Egypt's Presidency; ministers and senior officials.
