17/04/2011
Kingdom assures Asia of uninterrupted oil supply
In a statement by Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi
Saudi Arabia announced Saturday that it was ready to meet the energy requirements of Asian countries.
“We are ready to supply oil requirements of South Korea and other Asian countries,” said Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi.
He made the statement while talking to South Korean Knowledge Economy Minister Joong Kyung-choi as the two discussed bilateral relations as well as the economic situation in Korea.
South Korea is one of the biggest importers of Saudi oil. The Kingdom has a lot of investment in the Asian country’s petroleum sector.
Speaking about the current increase in oil prices in the global market, Al-Naimi said it was not because of any shortage in supply. “The demand and supply in the international market is balanced while the commercial reserve is stable,” he pointed out.
Oil prices surged above $112 a barrel in New York Friday and Brent topped $126 following a drop in the dollar and continued jitters about shipments from the world's major oil suppliers.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate for May delivery jumped $2.49, or 2.3 percent, to settle at $112.79 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude oil set new 30-month highs almost every day this week.
In a related development, Saudi Aramco President Khalid Al-Falih predicted that oil demand from industrialized countries would decline until the year 2035.
However, it would be compensated by increased demand from Asian economic giants such as China, India and South Korea, as well as Brazil.
He disclosed Saudi Aramco's plans to implement two oil projects in Indonesia and Vietnam as part of efforts to expand its activities in Asia. Al-Falih said the Saudi oil giant was working with multinational companies such as Total, Dow Chemical, Sumitomo Chemical and Royal Dutch Shell.
