Saudi Arabia allots $20 bln for spare oil capacity

MOSCOW, October 5, 2018 – Saudi Arabia will invest USD 20 billion over the coming few years to maintain and expand spare oil production capacity, a top official announced on Thursday.

Speaking at an industry gathering in Moscow, Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al Falih said the country was considering bringing its oil output capacity from the current level of 12 million bopd up to 13 million bopd. He said a decision on the expansion had not yet been reached.

The Saudi minister emphasised the cost and effort involved in maintaining spare capacity, an approach he has encouraged fellow oil producers to follow.

“This spare capacity is not just a natural reservoir that we have. This is very expensive investment for the kingdom, and some of our partners within OPEC and OPEC+ have elected to invest to maintain (oil capacity) to have the readiness on a short notice,” he said.

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