Kingdom will not sell oil to any country imposing price cap – Saudi energy minister

RIYADH: Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Tuesday that the Kingdom will not sell oil to any country that attempts to impose a price cap on its supplies.

Prince Abdulaziz said in an interview published by Energy Intelligence that placing a ceiling on oil prices would inevitably lead to market instability, and Saudi Arabia would reduce its oil production.

The prince added that OPEC+ group of oil-producing nations had succeeded in bringing significant stability and transparency to the oil market, especially in comparison to all other commodities markets.

“The NOPEC bill does not recognize the importance of holding spare capacity, and the consequences of not holding spare capacity on market stability,” he said.

NOPEC refers to a No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels bill, proposed US legislation that could leave members of OPEC+ open to prosecution under American antitrust laws. The bill, which has been periodically proposed for several years, was revived this month by a bipartisan group of senators in Washington amid ongoing concern about high energy prices.

But, said Prince Abdulaziz: “NOPEC would also undermine investments in oil capacity and will cause global supply to fall severely short of future demand. The impacts will be felt all over the world on producers and consumers alike, as well as on the oil industry.”

Saudi Arabia has proactively embarked on efforts to expand production capacity to 13.3 million barrels per day by 2027.

“The expansion is already under way, in the engineering phase, and the first increment is expected to come onstream in 2025,” the prince said.

“Spare capacity and global emergency stocks are the ultimate safety net for the oil market in face of potential shocks. I have repeatedly warned that global demand growth will outpace current global spare capacity, while emergency reserves are at a historic low.”