Even as Saudi Arabia’s oil production reached record levels, with total output hitting 11.1m barrels per day (bpd) in November 2018, the country is boosting levels of investment to ensure there is spare capacity to meet a global supply shock and subsequent increase in prices. According to Khalid Al Falih, the minister of energy, industry and mineral resources, the country will invest $20bn to pump another 1m bpd of crude in order to maintain spare capacity. EMERGENCY SUPPLY: The US Energy Information Administration defines spare capacity as the volume of production that can be brought online within 30 days and maintained for 90 days. Typically, lower capacity can trigger an increase in oil prices. In recent years Saudi Arabia has had the world’s largest spare capacity , of between 1.5m and 2m bpd. In October 2018 that buffer slimmed to 1.3m bpd as the country began pumping 10.7m bpd, […]