RIYADH: Saudi Aramco continues to invest with capital expenditure of SR28.5 billion ($7.6 billion) in the third quarter, an increase of 19 percent compared to the same period in 2020, said Ziyad Al-Murshed, acting service line head of finance, strategy and development at Saudi Aramco. The company expects its capital expenditures for 2021 will reach about SR130 billion. “With regard to capital expenditures, Saudi Aramco is characterized by the ability to increase or decrease the volume of capital expenditures according to market conditions,” said Al-Murshed in a TV interview with Al-Arabiya on Sunday. “The company demonstrated these capabilities in the past two years,” he added. Due to market conditions last year, the company reacted by reducing capital spending from SR123 billion in 2019 to nearly SR100 billion in 2020 “and this year with the recovery of the global economy and the demand for oil, as well as in light of the low spending on oil and gas supplies. We have raised capital spending in line with the company"s strategy and provide crude oil to consumers at a competitive cost and low carbon intensity,” he said.