|
 Referring to countries outside of the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Saudi Oil Minister Ali
al-Naimi told reporters: "If they want to cut production they are
welcome: We are not going to cut, certainly Saudi Arabia is not
going to cut."
He added he was "100 percent not pleased" with prices but they would
improve, although it was unclear when.
He blamed the fall in prices to half their levels of six months ago
on speculators and what he called a lack of cooperation from
non-OPEC producers.
His remarks at a conference in Abu Dhabi marked the second time in
three days that the kingdom has signaled that it would not alter
output levels, preferring to allow the market to stabilize on its
own.
The determined tone of his comments was echoed by some other Arab
oil ministers at the conference in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
capital.
UAE Oil Minister Suhail Bin Mohammed al-Mazroui urged all of the
world's producers not to raise their oil output next year, saying
this would quickly steady prices. He did not elaborate.
RISING SUPPLY
The world is forecast to need less OPEC oil in 2015 because of a
rising supply of U.S. shale oil and other competing sources, with no
significant increase in world demand growth.
Kuwaiti Oil Minister Ali al-Omair said OPEC did not need to cut
production and would not hold an emergency meeting ahead of its next
scheduled talks in June.
"I don't think we need to cut. We gave a chance to others (and) they
were not willing to do so," he said, referring to contacts with
non-OPEC producers before OPEC's meeting in November in Vienna.
There, OPEC kept its target output of 30 million barrels per day
(bpd) unchanged, leaving the market to balance itself without the
group's intervention.
That stance was seen as a shift from a longstanding policy in which
OPEC powerhouse Saudi Arabia has acted as a swing supplier.
Asked about possible cooperation between members of OPEC, which
include the world's lowest-cost producers, and non-member countries,
Naimi replied: "The best thing for everybody is to let the most
efficient producers produce".
[to top of second column] |
CONSPIRACY THEORIES
He also said that OPEC's decision would ultimately help the world
economy. "Current prices do not encourage investment in any form of
energy, but they stimulate global economic growth, leading
ultimately to an increase in global demand and a slowdown in the
growth of supplies," he said.
Iraq's oil minister, Adel Abdel Mahdi, said he saw no need for an
OPEC emergency meeting but "we have to wait and see" whether the
group was right to keep output unchanged.
Naimi denied politics played a role in the kingdom's oil policy and
said the price fall would not have "a noticeable and big" impact on
Saudi Arabia or other Arab economies.
The market slide has triggered conspiracy theories, ranging from the
Saudis seeking to curb the U.S. oil boom, to Riyadh looking to
undermine Iran and Russia for their support of Syria.
Before the Vienna meeting, there were hints that Russia could cut
output or exports if OPEC did the same. But the message from Moscow
after the meeting was that the world's second largest oil exporter
would maintain its output.
(Additional reporting by David French; writing by William Maclean;
editing by Sami Aboudi and Jason Neely)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
