Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud has said that energy security is now about gas, critical minerals and their infrastructure.

"Oil no longer poses an energy security challenge due to the availability of storage, developed infrastructure and mature supply chains," he told Future Minerals Forum 2025 in Riyadh.

He said the global energy transition is driving critical minerals demand far beyond current production capacities, adding lithium supply will need to grow sevenfold to meet the projected demand.

On Wednesday, Saudi Aramco and Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) announced plans to set up a mining joint venture, which is expected to start commercial lithium production by 2027.

Prince Abdulaziz stated that the extraction and processing of critical minerals was concentrated in a few countries, posing serious dependency risks.

He warned that countries were racing to secure critical minerals, ultimately leading to higher emissions, mineral prices, and energy costs.

“Energy security and sustainability depend on urgent and collective efforts to address critical minerals challenges,” the minister added.

(Editing by Anoop Menon) (anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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