Amin Nasser, chief executive of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., told the Financial Times the country would stick for now to its quotas from the pact between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia's bloc, but claimed it can drive up volumes fast. The head of the kingdom's monopoly also known as Aramco, likely the biggest company in the world, added output can be boosted by two million barrels per day to 12 million within six months, according to the article published on Wednesday.
The oil official indicated in the statement that the spare capacity could be even higher. The two million barrels per day would roughly match the calculations of the International Energy Agency, but for three months.
Producers of crude are meeting on June 22 to discuss the possibility to raise the output bar to make up for a slump in exploitation in Venezuela and, lately, Nigeria. Last year the group agreed to reduce it by a total of 1.8 million barrels per day. Sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran have also raised concern about the latter's ability to keep up the pace.