Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi reiterated here Sunday Saudi Arabia's commitment to the availability of petroleum to the global market, especially for developing and emerging countries. Addressing the 3rd Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable, he said the pledge was backed by concrete plans and actions, and by the commitment of some $70 billion for capital projects. “Saudi Arabia remains committed to our massive expansion program to raise our production capacity to 12.5 million barrels per day by mid-year. This significant spare production capacity will mitigate any future shortages,” Al-Naimi said. His remarks coincided with OPEC Secretary General Abdalla El-Badri statement in Algiers Sunday That OPEC wants to see oil prices rising to more than $70 a barrel. Al-Naimi also announced the Kingdom's unprecedented commitment to expand refining capacity, within and outside Saudi Arabia, to help correct the imbalances between crude-oil quality and refining configurations. “Saudi Arabia believes that energy demand will continue to grow in years to come, from the standpoints of the forthcoming economic recovery, the enduring aspirations of all nations for greater prosperity, and energy-intensive population spikes around the world projected for the coming decades. Energy will be required to fuel this recovery and future demand, and petroleum, which powered the sweeping advances of the 20th century, is ready to serve this new era of growth,” the minister told the gathering. He called for multilateral cooperation to overcome persistent challenges to energy security. “One such energy-market challenge is artificial fear, with pessimism about oil supplies and production capacity, unfounded by scientific or economic basis, fostering a perception of scarcity,” Al-Naimi said. “Energy independence, whatever its motivation, is much easier said than done,” he said. He said petroleum was a proven, reliable, affordable and safe energy source whose accessibility and sustainability continually increase, thanks to the industry's emphasis on research and development, and its greater focus on energy efficiency and conservation.
