Saudi Aramco is to invest $40bn on upstream ventures over the next decade as it looks to maintain its current oil production capacity as well as double gas output.

Speaking at the Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) Conference in Norway, Aramco CEO Khalid al-Falih told delegates that the bulk of future investments will be in the upstream sector.

Aramco produced a record 11 billion cubic feet a day (cf/d) of natural gas in 2013 and is accelerating gas production on several fronts. It aims to maximise associated gas from its oil assets, bring non-associated fields onstream and invest heavily in non-conventional sources of the resource in the form of shale and tight gas formations.

The kingdom’s oil capacity is 12 million barrels a day (b/d), but Aramco is currently producing 9.7 million b/d. Several upstream ventures are either commissioning or at various pre-operational phases. These include the 900,000 b/d offshore Manifa field, as well as a total of 550,000 b/d of incremental increases at the onshore Shaybah and Khurias fields.

Al-Falih also said he expects more capital being invested in Aramco’s offshore assets.