- Title: RUSSIA: SAUDI ARABIA SAID IT SAW NO NEED FOR OPEC TO CHANGE OUTPUT LIMITS
- Date: 3rd September 2003
- Summary: (W7) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (SEPTEMBER 3, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. SLV OF A PRESS-CONFERENCE 0.05 2. MCU (English) SAUDI OIL MINISTER ALI AI-NAIMI SAYING: "The best assurance is the commitment of both countries to the stability of the market, the assurance of a maintaining a reasonable price, which we have said before and maintaining at the same time the world's economic growth which results in increased demand for petroleum. With respect to what is a supply demand for the forth quarter, I think its anybody's guess, you know many publications, many numbers and they run as high as 79million barrels per day, plus." 0.52 3. SV MEDIA IN THE ROOM 0.59 4. MCU (Russian) IGOR YUSUFOV, RUSSIAN ENERGY MINISTER, SAYING: " Besides the fact that we are one of the biggest oil exporters, we feel our big responcibility for the stability of the worlds oil market. Our main task is to maintain the stability of oil prices and make them affordable to our consumers. we need to make sure that the needs of our consumers are satisfyed fully and in time and that there are no sharp changes in the prices - nobody needs them - meither producers nor consumers." 1.31 5. SV MEDIA IN THE ROOM 1.37 6. MCU (English) SAUDI OIL MINISTER ALI AL NAIMI SAYING: "If you look at supply and demand, if you look at inventories, if you look at price, you will conclude that the market is in balance and there are no today at least for a couple of months threats to unbalancing the market. However we must keep in mind that the oil market is suseptable to so many variables: political, climatical, name it...So it is the riskiest thing to say something today and then to be proven otherwise tomorrow. But as far as we can tell today from the numbers we see, from the inventories, from the stability of the price, from supply and demand, the market is in balance." 2.41 7. SV MEDIA IN THE ROOM 2.49 8. SLV NEWS CONFERENCE 3.11 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 18th September 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
- Country: Russia
- Reuters ID: LVADLT1NXVIDQWLOM6QMO9M54LDV
- Story Text: Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it saw no need for
OPEC to change output limits
Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it saw no need for
OPEC to change output limits when the group
decides fourth quarter production policy later in September.
"If you look at supply and demand, if you look at
inventories, if you look at price, you will conclude that
the market is in balance and there are no today at least
for a couple of months threats to unbalancing the market,"
Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters.
"However we must keep in mind that the oil market is
suseptable to so many variables: political, climatical,
name it...So it is the riskiest thing to say something
today and then to be proven otherwise tomorrow. But as far
as we can tell today from the numbers we see, from the
inventories, from the stability of the price, from supply
and demand, the market is in balance," he added.
OPEC price hawks were worrying earlier this year that
crude markets would collapse under the weight of rising
post-war Iraqi exports.
But Iraq's deliveries are still less than half pre-war
capacity and a world economic recovery is feeding petroleum
demand, supporting prices.
Naimi was talking to reporters a day after he signed
the first formal oil market agreement with Russia, the
world's second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia.
The pact calls for supply coordination between the two
states, which account for one fifth of the world's oil
output. It is the first formal recognition of a fragile
alliance between the two rivals, both heavily dependent on
oil revenues.
But Russia made it clear on Thursday it had no
intention of capping booming oil output, which alongside
high oil prices was the main driving force behind its
impressive economic growth.
" Besides the fact that we are one of the biggest oil
exporters, we feel our big responcibility for the stability
of the worlds oil market. Our main task is to maintain the
stability of oil prices and make them affordable to our
consumers. we need to make sure that the needs of our
consumers are satisfyed fully and in time and that there
are no sharp changes in the prices - nobody needs them -
meither producers nor consumers," said Russia's energy
minister Igor Yusufov.
Russia twice agreed to cut its oil exports alongside
OPEC in 2001 and 2002, but kept boosting supplies instead.
Naimi said he believed Russia would closely cooperate
with OPEC as it supported a price target very similar to
the cartel's price corridor.
" The best assurance is the commitment of both
countries to the stability of the market, the assurance of
a maintaining a reasonable price, which we have said before
and maintaining at the same time the world's economic
growth which results in increased demand for petroleum.
With respect to what is a supply demand for the forth
quarter, I think its anybody's guess, you know many
publications, many numbers and they run as high as
79million barrels per day, plus," he said.
Oil analysts expect no change in output from the
Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries at its
September 24 meeting.
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