Al-Naimi says optimistic about future, oil price slide ‘temporary’

JEDDAH: Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi sees the current slide of oil prices as temporary and he remains optimistic about the future of the industry, state news agency SPA quoted him as saying.
“I am optimistic about the future, what we are facing now and what the world is facing is a temporary situation and will pass,” he told SPA.
“The global economy, especially the emerging economies would return to sustainable growth, and therefore the demand for oil will also grow.”
Al-Naimi said it was difficult for Saudi Arabia and OPEC to reduce its output, affecting their market share, when other oil producers outside the group are raising production “at a time when it is difficult to control prices.”