Akhir 03, 1432 / March 08, 2011, SPA -- In a special interview with the Saudi Press Agency, His Excellency Minister Ali I. Al-Naimi, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, stated that recent speculation regarding oil supply disruptions and the adequacy of crude oil supplies in the global petroleum market have sparked concerns in some quarters, leading to increased crude oil price volatility as well as growing conjecture about future price trajectories. However, Al-Naimi underscored the fact that recent crude oil prices are not supported by basic supply-demand balances, and have more to do with financial speculation and unwarranted negative supply sentiment than industry fundamentals. At present the market remains well-supplied, Al-Naimi said, and there is still substantial additional production capacity available should it be needed. He went on to say that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia currently has 3.5 million barrels-per-day of spare crude oil production capacity readily available that could help to offset shortfalls in supplies. Furthermore, that spare capacity is characterized by a mix of crude grades, allowing the Kingdom to meet a broad spectrum of downstream needs, Al-Naimi noted. The use of various storage locations across the world provides further flexibility to meet any additional requirements from the global petroleum market in a responsive and reliable manner. In keeping with its traditional efforts to insure stability of the oil market, Al-Naimi said the Kingdom has taken the following steps: 1- The Kingdom has supplied all of its customers' normal crude oil requirements. 2- The Kingdom has met all incremental demand from its customers. 3- The Kingdom has taken steps to develop a special crude oil blend which is closer in quality to the supplies which have been lost by utilizing mixes from its different fields which are lighter in API gravity and lower in sulfur content, helping to minimize crude quality concerns. 4- The Kingdom is also storing additional quantities of crude oil at various storage facilities and increasing inventories in Sidi Kerir (Egypt), Rotterdam (the Netherlands) and Okinawa (Japan) to better meet any additional call on its production. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has long been committed to promoting market stability in the interest of both producers and consumers, and in support of global economic growth and development," Al-Naimi stressed. "Time after time we have delivered on that commitment by tapping our additional crude oil production capacity when supply conditions warranted, and Saudi Arabia will continue to reliably meet the world's petroleum needs," he said.
