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Saudi Arabia says won’t cut oil output

ABU DHABI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it would not cut output to prop up oil markets even if non-OPEC nations did so, in one of the toughest signals yet that the world’s top petroleum exporter plans to ride out the market’s biggest slump in years. Referring to countries outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters: "If they want to cut production they are welcome: We are not going to cut, certainly Saudi Arabia is not going to cut." He added he was "100 percent not pleased" with prices but they would improve, although it was unclear when. He blamed the fall in prices to half their levels of six months ago on speculators and what he called a lack of cooperation from non-OPEC producers. His remarks at a conference in Abu Dhabi marked the second time […]

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Saudi Arabia Confident in Oil Rebounding on Global Growth

Saudi Arabia Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said at a conference in Abu Dhabi, prices will… Read More Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is confident that crude prices will rebound with global economic growth boosting demand. Prices will recover from a slump due to a glut created by a lack of cooperation from producers outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Saudi Arabia Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said at a conference in Abu Dhabi yesterday. Al-Naimi ended his speech showing the confidence as he jumped off the stage and smiled. Brent oil tumbled into a bear market this year as the U.S. pumped the most crude in more than three decades and economic growth slowed from China to Germany . The increase in global crude demand was about 700,000 barrels a day this year, below the projected 1.2 million barrels a day, Al-Naimi said. “The oil market will […]

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Why Saudis Decided Not to Prop Up Oil

ENLARGE Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, center, at the opening session of the 10th Arab Energy Conference in Abu Dhabi Sunday. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images In early October, Saudi Arabia’s representative to OPEC surprised attendees at a New York seminar by revealing his government was content to let global energy prices slide. Nasser al-Dossary ’s message broke from decades of Saudi orthodoxy that sought to keep prices high by limiting global oil production, said people familiar with the session. That set the stage for Saudi Arabia’s oil mandarins to send crude prices tumbling late last month after persuading other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to keep production steady . Hard-hit countries like Iran, Russia and Venezuela suspected the move was a coordinated effort between the oil kingdom and its longtime ally, the U.S., to weaken their foes’ economies and geopolitical standing. But the story of Saudi […]

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Saudi Arabia Says Hard for OPEC to Give Up Oil-Market Share

Saudi Arabia and OPEC would find it “difficult, if not impossible” to give up market share by cutting crude production, the country’s oil minister said. Global oil markets are experiencing “temporary” instability caused mainly by a slowdown in the world economy, Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said, according to comments published today by the Saudi Press Agency. He reiterated the country’s intention to maintain output amid plunging prices. “In a situation like this, it is difficult, if not impossible, that the kingdom or OPEC would carry out any action that may result in a reduction of its share in market and an increase of others’ shares,” Naimi said, according to the state-run news agency. Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in OPEC, will stick to its oil policies, he said. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided Nov. 27 to keep its production target unchanged at 30 million barrels a day, […]

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Saudi Arabia’s Oil Exports Drop Was Sign of Weaker Demand

Saudi Arabia shipped 10 percent less oil overseas in October than it did a year earlier, signaling demand was falling even before OPEC decided a month later to hold production unchanged with prices plunging. Oil exports fell to 6.9 million barrels a day in October from 7.7 million barrels a day a year earlier, according to data from the Joint Organisations Data Initiative yesterday. It was the sixth month in a row that Saudi Arabia exported less than 7 million barrels a day, the level it needs to balance its budget. Crude slumped 44 percent this year as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries sought to defend market share amid a U.S. shale boom that’s exacerbating a global glut. Saudi Arabia will stick to its policy to maintain output, the country’s oil minister Ali Al-Naimi said, according to state-run Saudi Press Agency. Saudi Arabia and OPEC can’t lose its […]

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Saudi Arabia Spending Means Less Room for OPEC to Cut Output

Saudi Arabia ’s plan to continue spending on social projects and security increases the likelihood that the world’s biggest oil exporter will stick with OPEC’s policy of maintaining output even as crude prices plunge. “Saudi Arabia is backing up OPEC policy with action to strengthen the home front against the adverse impact of falling oil prices,” Arabia Monitor Chief Economist Florence Eid-Oakden, whose firm advises investors on business risks in the Middle East , said yesterday by phone from London . The Saudi stock market rebounded after Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf announced that the government plans to fund “massive” development projects next year, focusing on health care, education, social services and security. The Tadawul stock index lost almost a third of its value since September amid expectations that falling oil prices will curtail government spending . The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided Nov. 27 to keep its output […]

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Saudi Arabia is playing chicken with its oil

Saudi King Abdullah sits before a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Kerry at the Royal Palace in Jeddah In August 1973, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat paid a secret visit to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to meet with King Faisal. Sadat was preparing for war with Israel, and he needed Saudi Arabia to use its most powerful weapon: oil. Until then, King Faisal had been reluctant for the Arab members of OPEC to use the “oil weapon.” But as the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war unfolded, the Arab oil producers raised prices, cut production and imposed an embargo on oil exports to punish the United States for its support of Israel. Without Saudi Arabia, the oil embargo would not have gotten very far. Today, Saudi Arabia is once again using its “oil weapon,” but instead of driving up prices and cutting supply, it’s doing the reverse. In the face of […]

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Saudis won’t cut oil production unless US, Russia also cut production

Saudis won’t cut oil production unless US, Russia also cut production thumbnail Saudi Arabia’s influential royal Prince Turki al-Faisal al-Saud has said the kingdom would only consider cutting oil production if Iran, Russia and the US agreed to match those cuts because it wants to protect its market share. Speaking in London, the Prince who is a senior Saudi royal and the former head of the country’s spy agency, said that the kingdom would not repeat previous mistakes of surrendering its share of the global market for crude to its rivals. His remarks come just days after a controversial meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), when the group appeared split over a decision to keep producing at current levels. “The kingdom is not going to give up market share at this time to anybody and allow – whether it is Russia, Nigeria, or Iran or other […]

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Saudi King Announces Cabinet Reshuffle, Keeps Oil Minister Naimi in Place

By Summer Said Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah on Monday announced a shake-up of the Kingdom’s government, but kept veteran oil minister Ali al-Naimi in place. Mr. al-Naimi, who has been the kingdom’s oil minister since August 1995, was instrumental in the recent decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, to keep its oil production target steady, a move that has since sent global oil prices into a tailspin. The king named new heads for the ministries of higher education, Islamic affairs, health, culture and information, telecommunications, transportation, agriculture and social affairs, according to a royal decree posted by the official Saudi Press Agency. Write to Summer Said at [email protected]

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Saudi Arabia Cuts All January Crude Oil Prices to U.S., Asia

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, deepened the discount at which it sells crude to Asia and the U.S., underscoring for some market watchers the kingdom’s commitment to defending its market share amid the recent rout in oil prices. The move comes a week after Riyadh persuaded fellow OPEC members to maintain the group’s production target, instead of reining in output significantly to support prices. Brent crude, the global benchmark, slid 0.4% to $69.64 a barrel on the news, reversing earlier gains. That’s the lowest level since May 2010 and brings Brent’s year-to-date decline to 37%. U.S. crude-oil prices dropped 0.8% to $66.81 a barrel, but remained above the more-than five-year low hit Nov. 28. State-owned Saudi Aramco Oil Co., also known as Saudi Aramco, said Thursday that it had reduced its official selling prices for all oil grades bound for Asia in January by between $1.50 and […]

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