Saudi to Boost Oil Output by 300,000 Barrels a Day (Update1)
bloomberg.com
By Janine Zacharia
May 16 (Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, will increase crude oil production by 300,000 barrels a day next month in response to customer requests.
The country will pump 9.45 million barrels a day in June, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said in Riyadh today, following a meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. Earlier today, U.S. officials including National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley had said Saudi Arabia's policy was to supply extra oil only if customers needed it.
``On May 10 we increased our response to our customers by 300,000 barrels because they asked for it,'' al-Naimi said. ``So our production for June will be 9,450,000 barrels per day. This is the request of about 50 customers worldwide.''
Oil prices have doubled in the past year on surging demand, supply disruptions in places such as Nigeria and commodity purchases by investors as a hedge against a weakening U.S. dollar.
Crude oil futures traded in New York rose to a record about one hour after Bush landed in Saudi Arabia earlier today. They later climbed as high as $127.82 a barrel, and last traded at $126.05.
``As far as the U.S. is concerned, most of the 300,000 came from the U.S. and we responded to it on May 10,'' al-Naimi said.
The Saudi oil minister said Bush was satisfied. ``He was because our response is positive. If you want to move more oil you need a buyer,'' al-Naimi said at a press conference at the Saudi foreign ministry in Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia, biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped 9.12 million barrels of crude a day in April, according to Bloomberg estimates.
To contact the reporters on this story: Janine Zacharia in Riyadh at jzacharia@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: May 16, 2008 13:06 EDT |
