3 december 2013 #Economics Saudi Oil Minister Plays Down Talk Of Cuts To Opec Production. Ali al-Naimi, the Saudi oil minister, dismissed the idea of cuts to Saudi production on Monday as he arrived in Vienna for an Opec meeting, which is expected to be dominated by the prospects for strong growth in supplies. Faced with questions about whether Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude oil exporter, will have to cut production or reduce exports in order to accommodate growing production elsewhere, Mr Naimi smiled and waved off the suggestion. Opec members, which include Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia as well as large Latin American and African producers, produce about 30m barrels of oil a day to meet about a third of the world’s demand. Brent crude oil has averaged $108.50 per barrel this year and held steady above the $100-a-barrel mark unofficially targeted by Opec for most of the past three years. The price climbed a further $1.77 per barrel on Monday to $111.46 following the release of strong US manufacturing data. But fast-growing output in the US is expected to erode Opec’s share of the market next year, prompting suggestions that Opec should reduce its current target of 30m b/d. Saudi Arabia has pumped at record levels of more than 10m b/d during the third quarter of the year to make up for shortfalls in production from Libya and Nigeria, defying predictions that it would have to reduce output to accommodate US production. It has since scaled back production slightly, to 9.75m b/d in October, according to the International Energy Agency, although that reduction coincided with a drop in domestic demand at the end of a hot Saudi summer. Iran may also lift production rapidly if it can reach a deal to roll back oil sanctions imposed because of its nuclear programme.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 02:49:40 +0000
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