Saudis offer to pump more oil
Saudi Arabia can pump an extra 1.3 million barrels of oil a day if the market requires it, the kingdom’s Oil Minister Ali Naimi said today.
“The kingdom is well prepared to meet all the requirements of the international oil companies if they need additional volumes, relying on the surplus production capacity of more than 1.3 million barrels daily, which could be used immediately if required,” he said.
Naimi’s comments could come as a relief to the world oil market, which is trying to come to grips with soaring prices that reached $44.61 (€36.50) a barrel in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange today – easing from Tuesday’s record of $45.04 (€36.80) a barrel.
The minister said that over the past three months, Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, increased its production by one million barrels a day, “bringing the average production of the kingdom during the past three months to more than 9.3 million barrels daily”.
An extra 1.3 million barrels would be a rise of almost 14% on the current daily output of 9.3 million.
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