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Seoul: The UAE would only increase oil production as part of a decision agreed by all members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), UAE Minister of Energy Mohammad Bin Dha'en Al Hamili said on Wednesday, dashing faint hopes it might follow recent Saudi boosts.
In his first public comments since Sunday's emergency summit of oil producers and consumers in Jeddah, Al Hamili also echoed his Opec peers in saying the world didn't need more crude oil, blaming oil's surge to a record near $140 mainly on speculators.
"The UAE is a member of Opec, so any production decision should be made in an Opec meeting," he told reporters on the sidelines of an oil and gas conference in the South Korean capital. Opec is next scheduled to meet on September 9.
Saudi Arabia said last week that it would step up production to 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd), its second substantive increase in as many months and its fastest production rate in decades, but has struggled to convince others in Opec to follow its efforts to tame prices that have doubled in a year.
The UAE is one of the few Opec members that would be able to increase output as it has spare production capacity.
"The UAE is always ready to increase output because we have the spare capacity to do so if the market needs oil," Al Hamili said, but added: "For now I think the market is adequately supplied."
Al Hamili said the UAE was constantly investing in expanding production facilities but gave no value or targets.
Kuwait Oil Minister Mohammad Al Olaim said his country would increase its output capacity by 300,000 bpd in mid-2009, clarifying a report that suggested the Gulf producer would boost actual output.
Figures: EIA cuts 2010 forecast
Crude oil production from non-Opec countries will not be able to keep up with growing global demand in the next few years, forcing oil consuming nations to rely more on the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries for supplies, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said yesterday.
In its long-term energy forecast, the EIA lowered its estimate of non-Opec oil production in 2010 to 51.8 million barrels per day (bpd), down 1.1 million bpd from last year's forecast. For the same period, Opec oil output was cut by just 400,000 bpd to 37.4 million.
Opec member countries are expected to invest in incremental production capacity, so their conventional oil output will account for about 43 per cent of total global production through 2030, the EIA said.
Meanwhile, world oil demand in 2010 will be 1.5 million bpd less than previously thought at 89.2 million bpd, due to higher oil prices, the EIA said. China will account for almost half the lower oil consumption, with the country's oil use cut 600,000 bpd to 8.8 million bpd.
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