Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, expects to increase its oil production next month from 10.7 million bpd at present, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Monday, adding that the kingdom will continue to work to protect the market from price shocks.
"Many factors could affect global oil prices, but Saudi Arabia and other major producers will continue to work to protect the market from price shocks," Faleh said at the IHS conference.
"We may see another round of unexpected disruptions that we have seen in Nigeria, Libya and Venezuela, and we have seen the sanctions imposed on Iran, these supply disruptions need a shock shield, and Saudi Arabia is largely a shock absorber," he said.
"We have invested tens of billions of dollars to build spare capacity between 2 million and 3 million barrels per day over the years, equivalent to the capacity of major producers," he said.
Al-Falih said Saudi Arabia could produce 12 million barrels a day and that its current production is 10.7 million barrels per day, adding that the figure would rise next month.
