Naimi Backs Current Price Band

Saudi Arabia is backing OPEC’s current price band. Amid international worries over high oil prices, Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister said that his country remains committed to a $22 to $28 per barrel range. But the minister, Ali Al Naimi, said Saudi Arabia and other members of OPEC have only limited ability to control international prices.
“Saudi Arabia continues to be committed to OPEC's $22-$28 a barrel and believes OPEC's basket of $25 is a fair one for both consumers and producers,” Naimi told an energy conference in Washington. Naimi added that “oil markets are complex and even Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members with large reserves have only limited ability” to impact prices.

To some analysts, Naimi’s comment appeared to be an attempt to counter Indonesia’s Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, the current OPEC head, who said earlier that the cartel was considering increasing the price range by at least four dollars. The minister insisted, however, that "there is no general shortage of crude oil on the market."

The cartel, which controls one third of world crude output, is continuing to turn a deaf ear to complaints from major consumer nations worried about the negative impact on their economic growth that high prices likely could have.

Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said Sunday that he believed an oil price hovering around $28 per barrel would be a “good price” for OPEC. However he said the security situation in the Middle East meant it was impossible to make any forecast of a price drop.