São Paulo – Saudi Arabia is going to boost its oil output by approximately 100,000 barrels per day in order to bring the price of the product down. According to information from Reuters , a Saudi government official claimed that the country will pump approximately 10 million barrels per day and even more if the consumption is there. According to the same official, demand is slowing down and should not grow by more than 800,000 barrels per day in 2013.
The ideal price for 2012, as forecasted by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is US$ 100 per barrel. However, the price of the commodity has already risen by 28% ever since it hit the lowest level of the year, on June 21st. Brent crude for October settlement closed at US$ 111.83 on London’s ICE Futures Europe this Tuesday (18th). The price peaked at US$ 113.84 throughout the day.
Saudi Arabia is nearing its highest output in three decades. Aside from the Saudis, Kuwait is operating at full capacity, pumping 3 million barrels daily. Even though the demand for oil has been strong in Southeast Asia, it is not high consumption that is driving prices up. One of the reasons is the economic sanctions imposed on Iran, another major oil producing country, by the United States and European Union.
On the European side, the sanctions announced in the first half became effective on July 1st. ever since, oil production in the country, which reached 3.6 million barrels per day in 2011, was down to 2.8 million in August. The last Saudi oil output increase added an additional 1.63 million barrels per day to the total OPEC output.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
