ABU DHABI - Opec vowed yesterday to do what it can to deflate record high oil prices that have soared above $53 a barrel, and top exporter Saudi Arabia promised to keep the world supplied with as much oil as it needs. Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al Naimi said Riyadh would hold 1.5-2.0 million barrels per day (bpd) of production capacity in reserve but urged global consumers to upgrade refining capacity to handle the extra sour barrels being pumped by the kingdom. With the 11-member Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries already stretching pumping rates beyond 30 million bpd, a 25-year high, only Saudi Arabia has production to spare. "We are pumping around 9.5 million bpd now and if our customers want more crude it's available," Naimi told reporters ahead of the Adipec 2004 oil exhibition in Abu Dhabi.
| AT $53 a barrel I'll bet they'll pump everything they can. |
"There is no shortage of oil and there will be no shortage of oil and we are willing to meet demand as it rises," he said. "We plan to maintain spare capacity of 1.5-2.0 million barrels a day for the foreseeable future," he added. "We are ahead of demand, capacity-wise, by 1.5 million barrels per day." Riyadh has said for several months it will meet all its customers' needs, but the vow has failed to cool oil prices, which hit $53, a barrel on Friday. |