KUWAIT CITY: Oil at $100 a barrel is a comfortable price for producers and consumers, the head of Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) told state news agency KUNA yesterday.
“Kuwait is satisfied with oil prices in the region of $100 ... as this is acceptable to both producing and consuming countries,” KUNA said, citing KPC chief Farouk Al-Zanki.
His comments came as dealers said oil dived to fresh multi-month lows, driven by weak data in top global crude consumer the US, and as the dollar rallied on worries of a possible Spanish bailout.
The KPC chief also said Kuwait’s output was steady at about 3 million barrels a day out of a total production capacity of some 3.2 million barrels.
Zanki said tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear program and economic uncertainty in Europe were two of the factors driving oil price fluctuations, KUNA reported.
Traditional factors such as demand and foreign exchange levels no longer play an influential role, Al-Zanki said.
In a separate KUNA story, KPC unit Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) said it was planning to build three oil collection centers in the state that will increase crude production capacity by around 300,000 barrels of oil a day. Designs are being drawn up for the project which will be built in the north of the major oil exporter, KOC’s Chairman Sami Al-Rushaid said, according to KUNA. He did not give dates.
Overall Kuwait says it wants to produce 4 million barrels of oil a day by 2020.
In late afternoon trade, Brent North Sea crude for July slumped to $101.27 per barrel, which was the lowest level since October 5.
New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in July, tumbled to $85.86 a barrel, which was last seen on October 24.
“Crude oil prices plunged, tracking sharp losses in Wall Street, while a surprisingly large build in crude oil stocks showed serious concerns about the lack of the US oil demand,” said Sucden analyst Myrto Sokou.
“In addition, the fairly weak US economic data weighed further on market sentiment and limited risk appetite.”
FROM: AGENCIES
