OPEC's September Surprise

Last night, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries reaffirmed its self-imposed production quotas. And it said that this time it really, really, really means it.

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Posted by Steven Mufson on September 10, 2008 5:36 PM

Supply? Demand? Who Needs 'Em?

Energy quote of the day:

"How many times do I have to tell you, prices have nothing to do with supply and demand."
--Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi according to story by Bloomberg News.

The comment was made as Naimi was reiterating his view that "speculators", not the fundamentals of supply and demand, were driving up oil prices, and that OPEC did not need to raise output to bring prices down.

Posted by Steven Mufson on July 3, 2008 5:09 PM

Saudi's Oil Promises

*Correction Appended*

What sort of commitment did Saudi Arabia really make to ultimately expand oil output to 15 million barrels a day – and is that even possible?

That’s been a major subject of debate since last Sunday’s big oil consumer-producer pow-wow in Jeddah , Saudi Arabia. And thus the Saudi pronouncement has had hardly any discernable calming effect on oil markets, especially since it would take several years to reach that 15 million barrel a day level in any case. Meanwhile, the kingdom has talked of nudging production up by 200,000 barrels a day from current levels next month -- and current prices remain as high as they’ve ever been.

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Posted by Steven Mufson on June 26, 2008 12:55 PM

Did Bush Strike Oil?

So did the Saudis rebuff President Bush’s plea for more oil production or not?

The answer appears to be that the oil-rich kingdom made a gesture, but a small one. Initially, after Bush’s meeting with the Saudi king, Abdullah, Bush’s national security adviser Stephen Hadley said that the Saudis would not be increasing production despite Bush's appeal. Then, shortly after that, Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi said that the kingdom had decided a week earlier to boost production by 300,000 barrels a day – not because of Bush but in response to requests from 50 commercial customers.

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Posted by Steven Mufson on May 17, 2008 5:38 PM

Bush's Oil Diplomacy

President Bush pays another visit to Saudi Arabia this week, but the visit isn’t likely to produce new flows of oil from the world’s biggest exporting nation. That's not just a matter of Bush's own diplomatic shortcomings - it's also linked to changes in the U.S.-Saudi relationship and changes in the kingdom’s view of its self-interest.

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Posted by Steven Mufson on May 15, 2008 11:09 AM