SEOUL – Saudi Arabia will step in to cover any potential shortage arising from the Ukraine crisis, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi said on Monday. “We are willing to supply any shortage which may arise,” said Naimi. He said the Kingdom's current output is around 9.6 million barrels per day (bpd), while it has a capacity of 12.5 million bpd. Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula and violence in eastern Ukraine have rattled oil markets, keeping benchmark Brent futures near $108 a barrel after hitting $112.39 on March 3, the highest this year. Naimi said that both Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would meet any additional demand for oil. “Wherever demand is needed, we and other OPEC members will supply,” he said. Speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Seoul, Naimi also said $100 a barrel was a fair price for oil. “One-hundred dollars is a fair price for everybody – consumers, producers, oil companies,” he said. “It's a fair price. It's a good price.” Naimi said OPEC should maintain its current output cap of 30 million bpd when it comes up for review at the group's meeting on June 11 in Vienna. “Supply is highly sufficient, demand is great and the market is fairly stable,” Naimi said. “There is no reason for a change. Absolutely no reason.” OPEC faces the problem of accommodating rapidly rising oil output from Iran and Iraq, both aiming to restore full output after sanctions and civil strife. But Naimi ruled out any plans for Saudi Arabia to adjust output to make way for others. “People like our oil – why reduce?” he said, when asked if the Kingdom would cut production to accommodate rising output from other producers. Naimi also said that total global oil demand was steady. “Don't worry about individual countries – look at the total,” he said. OPEC in March said world oil demand will increase more than expected in 2014, raising its prediction for a second straight month as US and European economic growth picked up. In a monthly report, OPEC said global demand will rise by 1.14 million bpd this year, up 50,000 bpd from its previous forecast. It also raised its 2014 projection for global demand for OPEC's crude to 29.7 bpd, up 100,000 bpd from the previous month's report. – Reuters
