ID :
10776
Wed, 06/25/2008 - 13:51
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https://oananews.org//node/10776
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Kuwait to raise oil output by 300,000 bpd by mid-2009
KUWAIT CITY, June 25 (Kyodo) - Kuwaiti oil minister Mohammad al-Olaim told visiting Japanese industry minister Akira Amari on Tuesday that the Gulf country will add 300,000 barrels of oil to its current output of 2.6 million barrels per day by mid-2009, Japanese
officials said.
Al-Olaim also said in the talks with Amari that Kuwait will continue to supply necessary amounts of oil, boosting output capacity to 4 million bpd by 2020, according to the officials.
To meet these targets, Kuwait plans to invest $55 billion over the next five years to develop oil fields and construct refineries, al-Olaim was also quoted as telling Amari, minister of economy, trade and industry.
Kuwait's decision follows that of Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, which said on Sunday at an urgent oil meeting it will raise its oil output in a bid to calm jitters over soaring oil prices worldwide.
It remains to be seen whether other oil-rich countries will follow suit amid mounting worries over the negative impact of soaring oil prices on the world economy.
At the meeting in Jeddah, Saudi King Abdullah said the country will increase oil output by about 200,000 bpd, raising its daily output to more than 9.7 million barrels for the rest of the year.
Saudi Arabia also said the kingdom could raise its daily output to a total of 15 million bpd in the near future, compared with its previous plan of a maximum of 12.5 million bpd by the end of next year.
But many Western market players and experts were disappointed at the results of the latest meeting partly because other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries did not announce plans to raise their output capacity.
Many OPEC members have blamed financial speculators for the surge in prices, saying the problem is not that there has been insufficient supply.
The United States and other major consumers have argued that the imbalance of supply and demand is chiefly driving oil prices higher.
''Both oil producing and consuming countries must make efforts to stabilize the market,'' Amari, who visited Kuwait after attending the Jeddah meeting, told al-Olaim during the talks, the officials said.
Al-Olaim told the Japanese minister that Kuwait, which is believed to have the world's fourth-largest oil reserves, will fulfill its responsibilities as a producing country, being ready to provide sufficient amounts of oil as long as there is demand, the officials said.
Al-Olaim, minister of oil, electricity and water, also said it is important that oil exporters and importers build mutual confidence and that they should stop blaming each other for skyrocketing oil prices, the officials said.
Kuwait supplies about 7 percent of total Japanese oil imports.
officials said.
Al-Olaim also said in the talks with Amari that Kuwait will continue to supply necessary amounts of oil, boosting output capacity to 4 million bpd by 2020, according to the officials.
To meet these targets, Kuwait plans to invest $55 billion over the next five years to develop oil fields and construct refineries, al-Olaim was also quoted as telling Amari, minister of economy, trade and industry.
Kuwait's decision follows that of Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, which said on Sunday at an urgent oil meeting it will raise its oil output in a bid to calm jitters over soaring oil prices worldwide.
It remains to be seen whether other oil-rich countries will follow suit amid mounting worries over the negative impact of soaring oil prices on the world economy.
At the meeting in Jeddah, Saudi King Abdullah said the country will increase oil output by about 200,000 bpd, raising its daily output to more than 9.7 million barrels for the rest of the year.
Saudi Arabia also said the kingdom could raise its daily output to a total of 15 million bpd in the near future, compared with its previous plan of a maximum of 12.5 million bpd by the end of next year.
But many Western market players and experts were disappointed at the results of the latest meeting partly because other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries did not announce plans to raise their output capacity.
Many OPEC members have blamed financial speculators for the surge in prices, saying the problem is not that there has been insufficient supply.
The United States and other major consumers have argued that the imbalance of supply and demand is chiefly driving oil prices higher.
''Both oil producing and consuming countries must make efforts to stabilize the market,'' Amari, who visited Kuwait after attending the Jeddah meeting, told al-Olaim during the talks, the officials said.
Al-Olaim told the Japanese minister that Kuwait, which is believed to have the world's fourth-largest oil reserves, will fulfill its responsibilities as a producing country, being ready to provide sufficient amounts of oil as long as there is demand, the officials said.
Al-Olaim, minister of oil, electricity and water, also said it is important that oil exporters and importers build mutual confidence and that they should stop blaming each other for skyrocketing oil prices, the officials said.
Kuwait supplies about 7 percent of total Japanese oil imports.
