SAUDI ARABIA-PETROLEUM MEDIA FOURM OPEC won't bear burden of propping up oil price: Saudi minister

Record ID: 189624

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA-PETROLEUM MEDIA FOURM OPEC won't bear burden of propping up oil price: Saudi minister
  • Date: 23rd March 2015
  • Summary: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (MARCH 22, 2015) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** GCC OIL AND ENERGY MINISTERS SEATED AT THE SECOND PETROLEUM MEDIA FORUM IN RIYADH SAUDI OIL MINISTER, ALI AL-NAIMI, SEATED MINISTERS SEATED AND LISTENING TO SPEAKER PRESENTER WELCOMING ATTENDANCE AND INTRODUCING THE FORUM WIDE OF FORUM (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ALI AL-NAIMI, SAUDI OIL MINISTER, SAYING: "We are not against anybody we are with whoever wants to maintain market stability and the balance between supply and demand and (with regards to) price the market decides it." VARIOUS OF OPEC CHIEF, ABDULLAH AL-BADRI, SEATED WOMEN ATTENDANCE VARIOUS OF ALI-AL NAIMI AWARDING ASSOCIATIONS AND PERSONALITIES IN THE FIELD OF OIL AND MINERAL RESOURCES ATTENDANCE CLAPPING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ALI AL-NAIMI, SAUDI OIL MINISTER, SAYING: "Today the situation is hard. We tried, we held meetings and we did not succeed because countries (outside OPEC) were insisting that OPEC carry the burden and we refuse that OPEC bears the responsibility." FLAGS OF GCC COUNTRIES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ALI AL-NAIMI, SAUDI OIL MINISTER, SAYING: "The production of OPEC today is 30 percent of the market, 70 percent from non-OPEC, because it is a public interest, everybody is supposed to participate if we want to improve the prices." BANNER OUTSIDE THE CONFERENCE HALL WITH SAUDI KING SALMAN PICTURE READING (Arabic and English) 'GCC PETROLEUM MEDIA FORUM'
  • Embargoed: 7th April 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA4KUSPRJVZ3CF7JY1JXYKJN8VG
  • Story Text: OPEC will not take sole responsibility for propping up the oil price, Saudi Arabia's oil minister said on Sunday (March 22), signaling the world's top petroleum exporter is determined to ride out a market slump that has roughly halved prices since last June.
    Last November, Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries kingpin Saudi Arabia persuaded members to keep production unchanged to defend market share.
    The move accelerated an already sharp oil price drop from peaks last year of more than $100 per barrel that was precipitated by an oversupply of crude and weakening demand.
    Oil prices recovered since January to over $60 a barrel, but have fallen again in recent days following a bigger than expected crude stock build in the United States that fueled concerns of an oversupply in the world's largest oil consumer.
    Benchmark Brent crude settled at $55.32 a barrel on Friday (March 20).
    Oil companies, including U.S. shale producers, have slashed spending and jobs since the price of oil fell, and may face another round of spending cuts to conserve cash and survive the downturn.
    During an energy conference in Riyadh on Sunday Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi said politics played no role in the kingdom's oil policy.
    Some producers such as Iran, a political regional rival of Saudi Arabia, have criticised Riyadh for its stance on maintaining steady production.
    "We are not against anybody, we are with whoever wants to maintain market stability and the balance between supply and demand, and (with regards to) price the market decides it," al-Naimi told reporters.
    Since the oil price collapse, top OPEC exporter Saudi Arabia has said it wants non-OPEC producers to cooperate with the group. But al-Naimi said that plan had so far not worked.
    "Today the situation is hard. We tried, we held meetings and we did not succeed because countries (outside OPEC) were insisting that OPEC carry the burden and we refuse that OPEC bears the responsibility," Naimi told reporters on the sidelines of an energy conference in Riyadh.
    "The production of OPEC is 30 percent of the market, 70 percent from non-OPEC...everybody is supposed to participate if we want to improve prices," he added.
    Earlier, OPEC governor Mohammed al-Madi said it would be hard for oil to reach $100-$120 per barrel.
    Al-Naimi said the kingdom's oil production was around 10 million barrels per day (bpd), and it had the ability to increase that to meet demand if customers asked for more.
    "Currently there is no plan because there is no demand," he said, when asked if Saudi Arabia planned to expand production capacity beyond 12.5 million bpd.
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