Saudi Arabia rebuts fears of oil supply disruption

Thursday, 06 January 2005, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Saudi Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Ibrahim Al Naimi Thursday denied that it was unable to maintain reliable delivery of petroleum supplies. "To meet the needs of our customers, we have been producing about 9.5 million barrels per day throughout the second half of 2004 and can produce more on short notice," Al Naimi told a meeting on Asian energy cooperation hosted by India in association with the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum (IEF) and Kuwait. A forum of energy producers, consumers and other interests, IEF was proposed by Saudi Arabia to cultivate better relationship with all concerned parties in the energy sector, Al Naimi said. The first roundtable of major oil producers and consumers in Asia is being attended by Iran, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, China and host India, along with representatives of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA). Saudi Arabia is to host the second roundtable on regional cooperation. Exporting 60 percent of its production to the Asian countries, Saudi Arabia stressed that it was maintaining "spare production capacities in the range of 1.5-2 million barrels a day to meet additional demand should the need arise. "We closely monitor the growth of petroleum demand in Asia to anticipate future needs; so we can meet them without delay," Al Naimi said. He stressed that market stability cannot be achieved without close cooperation between all oil producers. "Interdependent petroleum relationship requires strategic partnership. That is to say there is need to cement our petroleum linkage by making it more durable through increased interdependency and additional reciprocal benefits." Citing many instances of Saudi investments in countries like South Korea, the Philippines, China and Japan, Al Naimi said: "We are also in negotiations with several local companies in Asia for joint investment in refining and marketing sectors with the aim of increasing partnership and capacity abroad for demand security. "Saudi Arabia's relationship with Asian countries is not one based on buyer and seller but rather mutually beneficial partners. "We expect to see more Asian joint ventures over the next few years" in petroleum and other fields of interest, he said. At his meeting Wednesday with Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, the Saudi minister invited New Delhi to explore investment opportunities in his country both in exploration and in refining.
Source: IANS
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