Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabian Oil Company, better known as Saudi Aramco, announced a 42% year-on-year decrease in exploration expenses over the course of 2018.
Exploration spending fell to SAR 7.9 billion ($2.1 billion) last year, compared to SAR 13.7 billion ($3.65 billion) in 2017, according to a prospectus issued by Aramco, the world's largest oil producer.
The drop in exploration expenses is mainly attributed to the retreat in amounts written off from the dry drilling expenses related to natural gas exploration activities in 2018.
In 2017, exploration expenses grew 23.4% to SAR 2.6 billion ($693 million) from SAR 11.1 billion ($2.96 billion) in 2016.
