Saudi Arabia is to push for an extra 500,000 barrels-a-day hike in
output by OPEC as soon as this week if oil prices drive toward $100 a
barrel, an official familiar with the situation said Monday.
Speaking the day after Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali Naimi
indicated the 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
may discuss a production increase, an official close to the group's
policy discussions told Dow Jones Newswires: "The Saudis want another
500,000 barrels a day in the market. They don't like these prices for
consumers."
The official said the timing of such an increase would hinge
on talks with other OPEC oil ministers, who will meet Thursday or
Friday in a closed session ahead of a summit of OPEC heads of state in
the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh next weekend.
"If the market progresses (and rises above) $100 a barrel, I
think the Saudis will push for something then and not wait until the
December meeting," the official said.
Naimi told reporters Sunday in Kuwait, "It is premature" to
speak of a production hike. "When OPEC meets, we will discuss this
issue," he said, though it wasn't clear if he was referring to this
week's summit or formal OPEC policy talks by oil ministers Dec. 5 in
Abu Dhabi.