Guest views are now limited to 12 pages. If you get an "Error" message, just sign in! If you need to create an account, click here.

Jump to content
  • CRYPTO REWARDS!

    Full endorsement on this opportunity - but it's limited, so get in while you can!

Oil Demand Seen Rising By Saudi’s al-Naimi as Market Calm


Wiljor
 Share

Recommended Posts

Oil demand is growing and the market has turned “calm,” Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali Al Naimi said.

“We want to see calm markets,” al-Naimi told reporters after a speech at a conference in the Red Sea city of Jazan in the nation’s southwest. Saudi Arabia will remain the largest oil exporter, he said, without specifying dates.

Brent crude futures, a benchmark for more than half of the world’s oil, gained 3.6 percent this year, after plunging 48 percent in 2014. The contract rose as much as 77 cents in trading Wednesday and was at $59.38 a barrel at 1:37 p.m. in London on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Kuwait’s oil minister said this month the surplus in global crude supply is less than the 1.8 million barrels a day the country estimated last month and that prices will continue to recoup losses. Global oil demand rose 2.2 million barrels a day in December from a year earlier, the strongest growth in 18 months, London-based Energy Aspects said Tuesday.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia, decided on Nov. 27 to keep its production target unchanged, leaving more expensive operators to reduce output. The number of oil rigs in the U.S. dropped 35 percent since Dec. 5 to the fewest since 2011, according to Baker Hughes Inc. Outlays for exploration and production will drop by more than $116 billion in 2015, Cowen & Co. estimates.

Refined Products

Saudi Arabia intends to be the biggest exporter of refined oil products, after the U.S., al-Naimi said, without giving any dates. The U.S. exported 2.66 million barrels a day of refined products in 2013, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the kingdom’s oil-producing and refining company, shipped 331,500 barrels a day out of a capacity of 2.6 million barrels a day, according to the company’s annual review.

The largest Arab economy is spending billions of dollars to diversify its economy, including expanding refineries and chemical plants. Saudi Arabian Oil, known as Saudi Aramco, and Dow Chemical Co. expect to start production at a $20 billion chemicals venture this year. The nation is seeking to reduce oil’s share of gross domestic product, al-Naimi said, without providing details.

Saudi Arabia is investing 70 billion riyals ($18.7 billion) in Jazan for a refinery, port and 4,000-megawatt power plant, Aramco Chief Executive Officer Khalid A Al-Falih said at the same conference on Wednesday. The refinery is expected to be completed by about 2017, Suleman al-Bargan, manager of Jazan refinery, said at the conference.

Aramco and partner China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. started a refinery last year at a plant at Yanbu on the Red Sea. It will have crude-processing capacity of 400,000 barrels a day. Aramco holds 62.5 percent of the facility.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-25/oil-demand-seen-rising-by-saudi-arabia-s-naimi-as-market-calm-

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.


  • Testing the Rocker Badge!

  • Live Exchange Rate

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.