Saudi Arabia reiterated Tuesday it is very well-equipped to fill any gap between global supply and demand thanks both to its ample spare crude-oil output capacity and oil stocks, but suggested that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries could potentially discuss a change to the group members' output when ministers meet next month.
Saudi Arabia
reiterated Tuesday it is very well-equipped to fill any gap between
global supply and demand thanks both to its ample spare crude-oil output
capacity and oil stocks, but suggested that the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries could potentially discuss a change to the group members'
output when ministers meet next month.
"We [Saudi Arabia] have 2.5 million barrels a day of spare capacity, and
80 million barrels of stocks," Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi told
reporters, adding that his country is now producing around 10 million barrels
of crude oil a day.
"We always satisfy our customer's requests. Whenever there is a request,
we'll satisfy it," Naimi said.
"Oil prices are still too high," the Saudi minister added, but he
declined to say what level he would be comfortable with.
Asked if OPEC might raise its output ceiling next month, he replied: "You
have to wait for the meeting there. We have to discuss that."
Iran
has criticized
Saudi Arabia
, claiming that it has ramped up output to take some of
Iran
's share of the market, which in turn has raised the prospect of a
difficult OPEC meeting. But Naimi told reporters in
Tokyo
that
"there is no tension" among OPEC members.
Naimi's comments come ahead of a July 1 ban by the E.U. of imports of Iranian
crude oil, reduced imports of its crude from some other countries and a near
halt to oil exports by
Sudan
--factors that have spurred increased demand for alternative crudes, and
which in turn have underpinned prices.
The
U.S.
has demanded that
Iran
's customers reduce purchases of Iranian oil and not engage in
petroleum-related transactions with
Iran
's central bank as a way of exerting pressure on
Tehran
to
give up its nuclear program. If they don't, they risk sanctions which may
effectively exclude them from the
U.S.
banking system.
On Tuesday, Naimi met
Yukio Edano
,
Japan
's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, to discuss oil supplies to
Japan
, as well as
Japan
's role in
Saudi Arabia
's renewable energy and manufacturing sectors.
During the closed-door meeting, Naimi told Edano that
Saudi Arabia
has sufficient spare capacity to deal with any "contingency,"
according to a senior METI official who was present. Neither minister mentioned
Iran
during the meeting, the official said.
In March, the
U.S.
decided to exempt
Tokyo
from
sanctions, recognizing Japanese moves to cut its dependency on Iranian oil.
Between January and March 2012,
Japan
trimmed imports from
Iran
by more than 20%, to around 350,000 barrels a day, as political
pressure from the
U.S.
to reduce imports mounted.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday praised
New Delhi
for beginning to reduce oil purchases from
Iran
, but stopped short of saying whether this was by enough to avoid
penalties.
It is unclear just what action the
U.S.
might take against
India
, or another major customer,
China
, if it deems their responses are insufficient.
Also on Monday, South Korean Minister of Strategy and Finance Bahk Jae-wan,
speaking in Abu Dhabi, said Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have
pledged to make up for any shortfall in Iranian oil exports to his country.
Διαβάστε ακόμα
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:58
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:54
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:32
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:27
Τρι, 17 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 20:01