Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi gave a firm rebuttal Monday to suggestions that his country's domestic energy consumption is growing too fast and will one day impede its ability to export oil.

Speaking at London think tank Chatham House, Naimi said Saudi Arabia 's energy consumption growth is normal for an emerging economy, but said the kingdom is taking action to slow it down.

" Saudi Arabia will continue to be a stable supplier of crude oil to world markets for many decades," Naimi said, speaking at the Chatham House think tank in London .

"We aren't leaving domestic energy consumption unchecked" but are investing heavily in energy efficiency and domestic alternatives to oil such as natural gas and renewables, Naimi said.

" Saudi Arabia 's domestic growth won't impact on exports now or in the future. Of this I am very confident," he said.

Naimi was in part responding to a report published by Chatham House earlier this month, which warned that without significant policy changes, rising Saudi energy consumption could deprive the world of 2 million barrels a day of oil exports by 2020 and make major oil price spikes more likely.

" Saudi Arabia 's energy consumption pattern is unsustainable," said the report. "Demand for its own oil and gas is growing at around 7% a year. At this rate of growth, national consumption will have doubled in a decade."

Naimi didn't deny that Saudi Arabia 's domestic energy use is growing rapidly.

" Saudi Arabia is going through a period of rapid and extraordinary economic growth. This has been a trend for many years and is normal for any growing economy," he said.

But this trend won't continue indefinitely and energy demand growth will slow just as it did in Europe and the U.S. as their economies matured, he said.

The Chatham House report urged the Saudi authorities to curb demand growth with some urgency by increasing domestic fuel prices and pushing for greater efficiency.

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