沙特稱50美元油價不會阻礙市場復蘇

Prices need to be at level above $50/bbl for more crude supplies to come back to the market following a slump over the past two years, Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, told reporters in his suite in a Vienna hotel.

“I talk to a lot of industry executives and board members. I don’t think you are going to see a rush back into investments at $50,” he said after attending the biannual meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on Thursday in the Austrian capital.

OPEC, which produces about 40% of the world’s crude output, decided Thursday to stick to its policy of unfettered production after its 13 members failed to agree on a ceiling. Thursday’s meeting follows a recovery in oil to almost $50/bbl from below $30 in January. That suggests OPEC’s Saudi-led decision in 2014 to maintain output amid a global glut is finally paying off, with higher-cost producers cutting back.

Oil Prices

Al-Falih, who was appointed oil minister last month to replace Ali al-Naimi, said that he doesn’t have a clear number for the price that will allow crude supply to come back rapidly.

“I don’t know what that level is,” he said. “But I think the level is going to be higher than $50. I think we tested $100 to $110 and we’ve found it was bringing in too much supply. So take a guess, it’s somewhere in between.”

Saudi Arabia is not against shale oil development and would like to see more of such supplies, though at levels that don’t disrupt the market balance, Al-Falih said.
Shale production growth of 200,000 to 300,000 bpd is “fine,” Al-Falih said. Shale output is necessary because it fills a gap in the market, but its growth should not be at levels before 2015 when annual production was rising by 800,000 bpd, he said.