Dubai, April 11: Saudi Arabia has announced that it was
ready to meet the energy requirements of Asian countries
including India and South Korea.
“We are ready to supply oil requirements of South Korea and
other Asian countries,” said Petroleum and Mineral Resources
Minister Ali Al-Naimi on Saturday.
He made the statement while talking to South Korean Knowledge
Economy Minister Joong Kyung-choi as the two discussed bilateral
relations as well as the economic situation in Korea, the Arab
News reported.
South Korea is one of the biggest importers of Saudi oil.
The Kingdom has a lot of investment in the Asian country’s
petroleum sector.
Speaking on the current increase in oil prices in the
global market, Al-Naimi said it was not because of any shortage
in supply. “The demand and supply in the international market
is balanced while the commercial reserve is stable,” he pointed
out.
Oil prices surged above 112 dollars a barrel in New York
on Friday and Brent topped 126 dollars following a drop in the
dollar and continued jitters about shipments from the world’s
major oil suppliers.
In a related development, Saudi Aramco president Khalid Al-Falih
predicted that oil demand from industrialised countries would
decline until the year 2035. However, it would be compensated by
increased demand from Asian economic giants such as China,
India and South Korea, as well as Brazil.
-Agencies