Saudi oil minister Ali Naimi Wednesday gave an upbeat view of global energy demand, saying the kingdom is pumping 9.2 million barrels a day and finding customers for it.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the start of a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna, Naimi said the oil producing giant was managing to move such an amount "day in, day out."
Saudi Arabia, the only true custodian of spare capacity in OPEC, has been pumping at this level for several months, some 300,000 barrels a day above its official OPEC quota.
"Saudi production level in February is 9.2 million," barrels a day, Naimi said. "This is what the market needs."
Acknowledging that this was above its quota, Naimi said: "Production decisions are a sovereign right, each country decides on its production level based on the market needs. OPEC does not control it."
The powerful oil minister gave a cautiously optimistic outlook for demand in the second quarter, which often sees a dip after the peak winter season in much of the industrialized world. Those fears have been heightened this year with the slowdown and possible recession in the U.S., the world's largest energy consumer.
"We don't have the data and we cannot forecast yet how demand will be, we have to wait and see," he said. "During the first 10 days of each month we get orders and then we know. So far, we have no problem with selling our oil, we have buyers."