Saudi oil output to reach 12m bpd: Aramco chief

WASHINGTON. May 7. KAZINFORM Saudi Arabia?s daily oil production capacity will soon reach 12 million barrels per day, Khalid Al-Falih, president and chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco, the country?s oil giant, announced here yesterday; Kazinform refers to the Arab News.

Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Al-Falih said Saudi Arabia could increase oil capacity beyond current expansion plans if the government decided it was necessary. He added that oil markets were well supplied and that supply looked set to outpace demand for the next several years. However, he said producers needed to maintain a cushion of spare capacity. ?In terms of production, Saudi Aramco is on the verge of attaining its goal of a 12 million-barrel-per-day crude oil production capacity, once we complete our Khurais oil field program a few weeks from today,? he said. ?This project is the largest single crude oil increment ever commissioned, and will be capable of producing as much oil as the entire State of Texas ? something I don?t say too loudly when I am in Houston, I might add,? he said. But Khurais is only one aspect of our overall crude oil development program, and Saudi Aramco alone will ultimately account for more than half of the grassroots crude oil production capacity brought on-stream worldwide this decade. ?We will also be expanding our natural gas production capability, which is important given the role that gas plays in the Saudi economy, supplying utilities and a wide range of industries, fueling greater economic development and diversification, and encouraging the development of value-added enterprises based on gas and its associated feedstocks,? he said. He emphasized the inter-dependence of countries in the world; Kazinform cites the Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version