Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia was yet to determine the size of a planned oil output increase, Al Arabiya Television said on Sunday citing an oil ministry official.
"The kingdom was yet to decide the volume of the planned increase in its oil output, the official said, adding that determining any increase in output levels before the meeting of consumers and producers in Jeddah would be premature," Saudi-owned Al Arabiya said.
Industry sources said earlier on Sunday that Saudi Arabia was poised to boost output in July to the fastest rate in years to help keep pace with demand and tame what it sees as unacceptably high prices.
Riyadh's expected production increase-the second in two consecutive months-would lift flows above 9.5 million barrels per day (bpd) from about 9.45 million bpd now, the sources said.
The Saudi output plans come to light a week before the kingdom hosts an unprecedented meeting of producers and consumers to tackle market instability. Oil at well above $130 a barrel has sparked fuel protests from Asia to Europe.
Saudi Arabia has already increased supply by 300,000 bpd this month from May to meet demand from buyers primarily in the United States.
Industry insiders declined to say how much more the kingdom would pump in July, but one source said output would not reach 10 million bpd. Saudi Arabia is the only member of OPEC with the spare capacity to boost supplies quickly and significantly. It could pump around 2 million bpd more than it does. The last time the kingdom pumped more than 9.5 million bpd was in November 2005, according to Reuters' monthly surveys.
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