The head of Saudi state oil giant Aramco said on Sept. 20 Europe's plans to cap energy bills for consumers and tax energy companies were not long-term or helpful solutions for the global energy crisis.

"Freezing or capping energy bills might help consumers in the short term, but it does not address the real causes and is not the long-term solution," CEO Amin Nasser told a forum in Switzerland.

"And taxing companies when you want them to increase production is clearly not helpful."

Governments across Europe have ploughed hundreds of billions of euros into tax cuts, handouts and subsidies to tackle an energy crisis that is driving up inflation, forcing industries to shut production and hiking bills ahead of winter.

Under EU plans announced last week, excessive profits from energy companies would be skimmed off and redistributed to ease the burden on consumers.

On Sept. 20, Nasser, who heads the world's largest exporter of oil, said continuing underinvestment in the hydrocarbons sector at a time when alternatives to fossil fuels were still not readily available was among the root causes of the problem.

"The conflict in Ukraine has certainly intensified the effects of the energy crisis, but it is not the root cause," he said.

"Sadly, even if the conflict stopped today as we all wish, the crisis would not end," he said.

Aramco has been investing to raise the kingdom's oil capacity to 13 MMbbl/d by 2027, but Nasser warned that globally investments in hydrocarbons were still, "too little, too late, too short term."

The underinvestment comes at a time when spare capacity is thin and demand is "fairly healthy" despite strong economic headwinds.

"When the global economy recovers, we can expect demand to rebound further, eliminating the little spare oil production capacity out there," Nasser said.

"That is why I am seriously concerned."

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