Opec's largest oil producing member Saudi Arabia said on Monday that $100 a barrel is a "reasonable" price for oil while its Gulf neighbour Kuwait said the price is "fair" and the market was stable. "In 1997, I thought 20 dollars was reasonable. In 2006, I though 27 dollars was reasonable," Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters in Kuwait City on the sidelines of a Gulf oil conference.
"Now, it is around $100 ... and I say again 'it is reasonable'." Kuwait's Oil Minister Hani Hussein said the "current oil price is fair." "There is a little bit of over-supply but we think that the market is stable at the moment," he said. Oil prices rose in Asian trade Monday after Cyprus and its international creditors struck a 10 billion euro bailout deal, averting collapse of the country's banking system.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, added 52 cents to $94.23 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for May delivery increased 62 cents to $108.30 in afternoon trade. "We are generally happy with the oil prices at the moment ... We think that the prices now reflect the market (situation) in general ... Basically, the market is balanced," the Kuwaiti minister said. Hussein also said that Kuwait's oil production at present is "a little bit below 3.0 million barrels per day because there are some maintenance work," adding that after the maintenance is completed soon Kuwait will return to 3.0 million bpd.
Comments
Comments are closed.