Arabia is currently producing crude at a rate exceeding 10 million barrels of oil a day, the chief executive Saudi Aramco said Thursday. Current Saudi domestic oil consumption is 2 million barrels a day, leaving the rest for exports, Saudi Aramco CEO Khalid Al-Falih said in an interview on the sidelines of the company's unveiling of Motiva Enterprise LLC's refinery expansion. The refinery is a joint venture between the Saudi oil giant and Royal Dutch Shell PLC. Production “changes day to day, but it's over 10 million barrels right now,” Al-Falih said. He also said that there is “spare capacity able to be brought to market.” Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, is seeing global oil supply exceed demand by up to 1.5 million barrels a day, Al-Falih added. Brent oil prices sank under $98 Friday for the first time in almost 16 months, hit by poor US non-farm payrolls data, the strong dollar, weak Chinese manufacturing figures and eurozone debt tensions. In afternoon London deals, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in July slumped to $97.70 per barrel - the lowest level since February 8, 2011. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for July dived to $82.56 a barrel, which was last seen on October 10. Crude futures, which suffered heavy losses last month on eurozone concerns, dived even lower after Friday's dismal payrolls report in the top global oil consumer the United States. The US economy added just 69,000 jobs in May, pushing the unemployment rate up to 8.2 percent, official data showed. The closely-watched US workforce figures were well below expectations of a 150,000 jobs increase and for the jobless rate to hold steady at 8.1 percent. In reaction, the euro slid to $1.2288, a low point last seen on July 1, 2010, as investors sought safety in the dollar amid eurozone woes, dealers said. “June began where May left off,” said analyst David Morrison at trading group GFT Markets. “Investors continued to rush out of the euro and into the relative safety of the US dollar. This has put downside pressure on all dollar-denominated commodity markets, although gold and silver are now surging.” The stronger greenback makes dollar-priced crude more costly for eurozone countries, denting demand and helping push prices lower. “This follows today's dismal non-farm payroll report which has raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will announce yet another programme of asset purchases at its meeting later this month,” added Morrison. Aramco will provide the 600,000 barrel-a-day Motiva refinery with 325,000 barrels of crude oil a day for the next few months as the refinery completes its unit testing. After that period, the refinery will buy crude oil from a variety of sources. – Agencies he said. The expansion comes at a time when the US fuel market seems stagnant, as a secular decline in demand combines with tepid economic growth. But the Motiva refinery, with its location on the Texas Gulf Coast, has the ability to import crude oil from a variety of locations and export the fuel to many parts of the world, Al-Falih said. “This is going to be one of the most competitive refineries,” Al-Falih said. “With its position on the Gulf, it has the ability for arbitrage. West Africa could develop into a market.”
