Current Oil Price Is Fair: Saudi Official

Current oil prices suit both consumers and producers of oil, Saudi Arabia's deputy oil minister said. "Yes," Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told reporters when asked if current prices were fair. Consumers and producers agreed that a price of around US$70-US$80 a barrel was a price high enough for those that invest in oil production capacity and low enough for those that burn the fuel, he said.

King Abdullah, the ruler of top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, said in December that a price around US$75 was fair. Prince Abdulaziz declined to comment on the likely outcome of OPEC's meeting on 17 March 2010, when ministers would meet to discuss oil supply policy. The 12-member group looks set to leave targets unchanged at the meeting.

Members should uphold commitments to their output targets under OPEC's agreement to curb output, Prince Abdulaziz said. "Saudi Arabia always had, still has, and will continue to have an excellent record on maintaining its commitment on the quota and it would certainly help if everybody commits to its own quota," he said.

OPEC compliance with output curbs agreed in late 2008 has steadily fallen since April last year. Compliance with curbs was just 53% in February, down from a record of 81% in April 2008. Saudi Arabia, OPEC's most influential member, has shouldered most of the 4.2 million bpd cuts the group agreed in late 2008 as producers raced to match supply with recessionary demand.- Kuwait Times