The CEO said, “Much of the promised progress has not been delivered, with many unintended consequences. Thankfully, it is finally shifting the narrative in three key ways. First, while EVs and renewables are growing, they are not even covering demand growth and remain small in absolute numbers… In reality, this is not a true energy transition; it’s an energy addition, which requires all hands on deck. Second, this reality is why every major forecaster is revising scenarios, with oil and gas locked in for decades, which I hope serves as the green light for long-term investments in both. Third, even in the Global North, the economic realities, technological limits, and public acceptance of the current transition plan are forcing some welcome policy U-turns.”

While shedding further light on Aramco’s growth strategy, Nasser remarked, “We are determined to remain dominant in oil thanks to a massive resource base, low costs, and one of the lowest upstream carbon intensities across the industry… We are accelerating in gas, as we have some of the world’s largest reserves, including significant potential in unconventional gas… And despite the current downturn, chemicals remain a key long-term growth area, with our proven strengths in feedstocks and conversion.”

Talking about the energy giant’s deployment of advanced technologies, Nasser continued, “We continue to deliver efficiency improvements and are further reducing our upstream carbon and methane intensities. We are deploying AI at scale, backed by major investments in infrastructure and top talent, as well as a USD 7 billion venture capital programme. Ultimately, our focus is on value as we invest in technology development, AI, and digital solutions… The same approach applies to our careful positioning in new energies, ready to scale up when commercially competitive. This balanced strategy is preparing us for a realistic future, delivering long-term value to our stakeholders and shareholders worldwide.”

Noting that the Kingdom holds a substantial share of the world’s spare oil capacity (idle supply that can quickly be brought to market), Nasser projected that global oil demand would rise by 1.1 million to 1.3 million bpd in 2025, and by 1.2 million to 1.4 million bpd in 2026.

Aramco, meanwhile, still views chemicals as a strategic growth area, even as rivals such as Shell and Exxon Mobil scale back operations. Nasser noted, “Despite the current downturn, chemicals remain a key long-term growth area, with our proven strengths in feedstocks and conversion.”

The company has been expanding its downstream and petrochemical portfolio to diversify revenue. In October 2025, it gained majority control of Petro Rabigh by acquiring a 22.5% stake from Sumitomo Chemical. In July this year, it bought a 10% stake in China’s Rongsheng Petrochemical for USD 3.4 billion, securing access to a 400,000-bpd refinery. Aramco is also building a USD 11 billion petrochemical complex with TotalEnergies at its existing Satorp refinery in Saudi Arabia.

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Recently, Petrobras also revealed that it is offering to buy up to $2.5 billion in global notes maturing between 2025 and 2050. The company said in a statement that it will issue new global notes maturing in 2051. However, the company did not elaborate further in this regard.

Last month, Petrobras has acquired BP’s stake in six offshore blocks in the Foz do Amazonas Basin. The financial details of this deal have not been disclosed. BP transferred its 30 percent stake in the offshore assets to Petrobras. This means now Petrobras owns a 100 percent stake in the blocks.

In this regard, Petrobras said, “The transaction is in line with the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan, which outlined new exploratory fronts outside the Southeast basins, and is part of the company’s portfolio-management process, prioritising investments in world-class deep-water and ultradeep-water assets.”

In 2020, Petrobras had set a new record for annual output. The oil company pumped an average of 2.28 million bpd in 2020. It broke its previous record of an average of 2.23 million bpd, which was set in 2015. According to Petrobras, it was greatly helped by the performance at the Buzios Field and improved corrosion-treatment efforts at its subsalt fields.

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Placing the solar panels on floating buoys will create a cooling effect that will reduce the temperature of the panels and thereby, enhance efficiency of power generation. This will help to achieve longer shelf life.

Cholanat Yanaranop, president at SCG Chemicals, has opined the new system will ensure power generation for factories. Cholanat also said this is an attempt to broaden SCG’s existing operations and the company aspires to penetrate other ASEAN countries.

“It is part of our project to build added value on our petrochemical products … We produce buoys and we try to create new innovation from buoys to create higher value; and it has turned out as a new power-generating system that works for those who have such ponds and reservoirs and want to make use of them,” said Cholanat.

SCG has already launched its pilot power farm projects on a reservoir in a factory in Map Thaput, Cholanat this week. Going ahead, the company said it will introduce a new business by  end of the year that will provide power to systems ranging from 1-5 megawatts.

“It is part of our project to build added value on our petrochemical products …We produce buoys and we try to create new innovation from buoys to create higher value; and it has turned out as a new power-generating system that works for those who have such ponds and reservoirs and want to make use of them,” said Cholanat.

“It is part of our investment of 3.6 billion baht ($114.7 million) this year to create new innovation to create added value to our products and also diversify business from petrochemical to non-petrochemical business to help diversify risks.”

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Suparna Goswami Bhattacharya

August 28, 2015: For economists worldwide, July historically is usually a quiet month. However, this year has been unusually active for the global economy. First, there was Greece’s debt crisis. Then the news of China’s stock plunging stroked further fears of growth slowdown. Finally, there was news of lifting of nuclear sanctions on Iran.

The lifting of sanctions basically means that Iran and the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany reached a deal that limits Iranian nuclear activity in return for lifting all international sanctions that were placed on Iran.

In November 1979, US imposed the first sanctions on Iran, banning imports from the country and freezing $12 billion in assets. Since then Iran has been battling sanctions every now and then.

As a result, the Iranian economy has been hit by sanctions implemented by the European Union, the United States and the United Nations after the country refused to stop its nuclear programme. It included a ban on oil and gas exports, freezing of overseas assets, and disconnection from the SWIFT mechanism, among others.

“The most relevant effect of the economic sanctions was a dramatic reduction in oil production and, consequently, a widespread shortage of foreign exchange, as well as soaring inflation and weaker growth,” says Ricard Torné, senior economist, FocusEconomics, a forum which gives out macroeconomic views by economists around the globe.

How Iran stands to benefit

Needless to say that the lifting of sanctions after 36 long years will only not only benefit the country but will also have spillover effect on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The sanctions did have some benefits too. “It prompted the government to accelerate its import substitution strategy and diversify the economy away from oil. As a result, the country enjoys a relatively diversified economy compared to its regional peers,” says Torné.

The most immediate effect will be the increase in Iran’s oil exports, which had declined by about 1 million barrels a day following the tightening of EU sanctions in 2012. “We expect it will take about a year for Iran to get its exports back to pre-2012 levels. Even in the short run, Iran could start selling the 30-40 million barrels of crude oil and condensate that it has stockpiled,” says Shanta  Devarajan, World Bank’s Chief Economist for the Middle East and North Africa adding that they expect Iran’s growth next year to be 5%, much higher than this year’s 3% and the negative growth of the previous two years. A temporary and partial removal of sanctions in 2014 helped the economy rebound to a growth rate of 3%, on the heels of a recession in 2012-2013.

With the oil sector expanding, the World Bank estimates foreign direct investments (FDI) to increase by about $17 billion.

Prior to 2011, oil & gas and manufacturing were the two major sectors receiving FDI, which ranged around $4 billion a year. The decline in investment cut Iran’s access to technology and investment. Iran did not have many international partners to help it develop its oil fields. However, now there has been a renewed interest from MNCs in the oil and gas sector as well as other important sectors.

Mark Mobius, executive chairman, Templeton Emerging Markets Group at Franklin Templeton Investments, in his personal blog said that investing in Iran is not only an oil story. “We have found many good companies in Iran that we believe to be well managed, representing a diverse mix of sectors and industries. Agriculture, manufacturing and mining are also key drivers of growth. We are particularly interested in consumer-oriented stocks as potential investment opportunities. Also, Iran’s banking sector, in particular, could benefit as the need for capital in Iran will be most acute,” Mobius writes in his blog.

The other beneficiaries will be the auto and the pharmaceutical industries. The country produced 1.6 million cars annually before the 2012 sanctions but production dropped to 700,000 post the sanctions. Production is expected to reach the pre-sanctions numbers in a couple of years.

“We are currently seeing a huge change in the atmosphere. More foreigners are willing to come to Iran. Once the doors open and foreign money starts coming in, the economy will benefit in various aspects. Increased competition will force companies to perform better and comply with international standards, which in turn will lead to job creation and rise in salaries,” says Sanam Mahoozi, PR manager for Turquoise Partners Group, an international boutique investment firm based in Iran.

Sensing change on the horizon, Iran has been working to prepare for a potential flood of new investors. Its stock exchange has been undergoing improvements in infrastructure, and leaders there are working to comply with international standards in areas such as surveillance and investor protection.

Labour market

With a population of over 80 million, Iran is the second most populous country in the Middle East after Egypt. And unlike other nations in the MENA region, people in Iran are well educated with over 4 million university students.

The lifting of sanctions will have a huge impact on employment. During the sanctions era, female unemployment rates increased and labour force participation fell. “The lifting of sanctions may reverse this trend, since the additional foreign currency in the market will typically give a boost to the services sectors, which tends to hire more women (because of a better match with their skills and preferences).  However, the foreign-exchange windfall needs to be managed carefully so that it leads to sustained employment growth in Iran,” remarks Devarajan.

Effect on MENA

Given Iran’s size and importance, the normalisation of relations with the international community will have a profound economic and political impact in the MENA region. Iran is expected to boost oil supply in the mid- to long-term, which will add to the global supply glut and exert downward pressure on prices. “Low oil prices will likely put additional strain on the budget and the current account of some oil-export–dependent economies. On the other hand, economies less reliant on crude will benefit from a reduced oil import bill,” says Torné.

The gradual removal of sanctions after decades of economic isolation will boost demand for imported goods and services. The United Arab Emirates stands to be the principal beneficiary, as it has a large Iranian community and already has strong commercial links with the country (the UAE accounts for around 36% of total Iranian imports).

Moreover, with Iran returning to the international community, the Ayatollah’s regime could help stabilise the political situation in the Middle East given its pivotal political role in the region.

Where will the investments go?

“In my opinion, the first sectors which will see investments are tourism, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and dotcoms,” says Mahoozi.

Others believe that most of the new money that has come in will be directed towards high-value petrochemical and metal industries in which Iran has a competitive advantage.

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