Saudi Aramco expands oil storage capacity after global turmoil: Here's why

On Thursday, the world-renowned oil giant Aramco explored expanding its global oil storage capacity after energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz were disrupted by the war with Iran.

This major announcement came when Al-Rumayyan was speaking at the FII Priority Europe summit in Rome, an event arranged by a Saudi non-profit institute, Future Investment Initiative.

Governor of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF, Rumayyan, Aramco said that Iran already has storage facilities around the world specifically in Asia, Korea, and Japan and is seriously considering expanding to commercial warehousing.

Meanwhile, the FII Institute organizes Riyadh’s annual flagship summit, often referred to as “Davos in the Desert” which brings together prominent world leaders, bankers, and corporate executives.

Rumayyan further clarified that PIF had invested $112.86 billion across Europe and Britain between 2017 and 2025. In addition, Aramco deployed around €80 billion with European suppliers over the same period.

He was of the view that mounting compliance hurdles are affecting the ability of investors, such as Aramco, SABIC, and the PIF to not only deploy significant investment in capital but also to retain their existing assets in Europe.

“European regulators and policymakers are looking into it. Hopefully we have better solutions," he said.

The United States and Israel reportedly launched strikes on Iran on February 28, marking the start of the war. 

Given the severity of the situation, Tehran has threatened to retaliate for the strikes by targeting civilian infrastructure in neighboring countries and by disrupting maritime traffic through the Hormuz strait-a crucial chokepoint through which roughly a fifth of the world’s energy is transported.