Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said in an interview with CNBC that Saudi Arabia will use its abundant supplies of cheap natural gas and renewable energy to transform the kingdom into a world leader in artificial intelligence.
In late October, Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, announced plans to acquire a significant minority stake in emerging artificial intelligence company Humane. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF is the majority shareholder in Humane, which was established in May.
Nasser told CNBC’s Sarah Eisen in an interview aired Tuesday that Humane will become Saudi’s national AI champion and grow into a leader in the field. Humane CEO Tarek Amin said Saudi Arabia aims to become the world’s third-largest AI player after the United States and China.
“Here, if you need renewable energy, you can find it at the lowest cost,” Nasser said. “If you want gas, you’ll find the cheapest gas. The energy is available, and the land is available to build all this.”
Data centers that train and run AI applications require vast amounts of electricity, which is typically generated by renewable energy or natural gas. By 2030, these facilities will consume almost four times as much electricity as the world’s electric vehicle fleet, Nasser said. The CEO said it will primarily be powered by gas, but will also use renewable energy.
Nasser said a significant portion of Almaco’s capital investment will go toward increasing natural gas production by more than 60% by 2030 to meet demand and investing in Humane. He said Aramco is targeting capital spending of $52 billion to $58 billion this year.
Almaco expects demand for oil and gas to increase over the coming decades, driven by consumption in developing markets, particularly in Asia, Nasser said. Demand will rise by 1.1 million barrels per day to 1.3 million barrels per day this year, and will remain at about the same level in 2026, he said.
“Emerging countries have great growth potential,” he said.
