Report: Saudis to keep oil output below capacity
Friday, July 17, 2009 E-Mail this story Free Headline Alerts
LONDON Ñ Despite U.S. pressure, Saudi Arabia intends to maintain crude oil production well below capacity.
Industry sources said the Saudi Oil Ministry has no mid- or long-term plans to bolster production to maximum capacity.
In 2009, Riyad was said to have increased oil output capacity to 12.5 million barrels per day.
But a document by Saudi Aramco, which manages the kingdom's oil industry, asserted that production would be limited to 10.4 million barrels per day after 2010.
The document, obtained by the U.S. magazine Business Week, asserted that Aramco could not sustain maximum production for more than a few weeks.
In 2009, Riyad was said to have reduced production to less than eight million barrels per day.
"Saudi Aramco will be able to maintain that volume only for short, temporary periods such as emergencies," Business Week reported. "Then it will scale back to a sustainable production level of about 10.4 million barrels a day."