Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi met Wednesday with U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.) to discuss co-operation between oil producers and consumers to stabilize crude markets.

The Saudi Oil Ministry said that the visit, the latest by a senior official from an oil importing nation to the world's largest oil exporting country, also discussed co-operation in the petroleum and mining sectors.

Saudi oil officials declined to say if Cantor has asked the Kingdom to supply more oil amid pressure from the U.S. , its key ally, to co-operate in strengthening sanctions over Iran 's uranium enrichment program.

Saudi oil officials reiterated Tuesday that Saudi Arabia won't enter other countries' internal political decisions about whether to ban Iranian crude, after a Japanese refiner again said it was in talks with Saudi Arabia to replace Iranian oil.

"How many times we have to tell this to either Japan or anyone else?" a Saudi oil official said. "Our trade is commercial not political. If customers, not countries, ask for more oil we will give it to them. It is up to them to decide if they want to ban Iran oil or not."

The Saudi official's comments communicated a note of frustration after a top government panel offered a similar public statement Monday about keeping oil transactions separate from internal political debates.

U.S. officials have been pressuring Japan , South Korea and other Asian buyers to reduce or eliminate their purchases of Iranian crude. Tuesday, a spokeswoman for JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp., Japan's largest refiner by capacity, said it has been in talks with Saudi Arabia and a few other oil producers about possible purchases in case of a ban on Iranian crude imports.

Yet some buyers from Japan and South Korea don't appear to be seeking extra Saudi barrels because of Iran issues just as yet, signaling that they don't expect any immediate problems with supplies.

A Saudi oil official also said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would steer clear of the Iran controversy.

"OPEC also won't get involved in this issue," the official said.
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