Azerbaijan, Baku, March 29 / Trend A.Badalova /
Saudi Arabia wants to see lower world oil prices, which will not hamper global economic recovery, and the country is ready to increase oil production to reach this goal, Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister of Saudi Arabia Ali Naimi said.
In an article that is published by the Financial Times, Naimi says that high oil prices are bad news for Europe, U.S., emerging economies, oil producing countries (including Saudi Arabia) and for the whole world energy industry.
Naimi stressed that though Saudi Arabia does not control the price it "remains the world's largest producer, and the country with the greatest proven reserves, so it has a responsibility to do what it can to mitigate prices".
It is clear that geopolitical tensions in the region, and concerns over supply, are helping to keep prices high, the minister belives, however he is convinced that there is no lack of supply, and there is no demand which cannot be met.
According to the minister, Saudi Arabia's current capacity is 12.5 million barrels per day. "Saudi Arabia has invested a great deal to sustain its capacity, and it will use spare production capacity to supply the oil market with any additional required volumes," he said.
Naimi said that the country has proved to be a reliable supplier, and will increase its production in case of need, as it did many times before.
He also stressed that the country is also uniquely capable of supplying volume when and where it is needed thanks to multiple delivery points, country's strong marketing capabilities and ample storage - inside the Kingdom and in other parts of the world, especially the Mediterranean, northern Europe and Asia.
Saudi Arabia is the world's leading oil producer and exporter. According to BP, the country's proved oil reserves amounted to 264.5 billion barrels in early 2011. Saudi Arabia's oil production increased by 0.7 percent to 10.007 million barrels per day in 2010.