'Current oil prices are sustainable'

The current oil prices at nearly $83 a barrel, which are slightly above the $70-80 band, are ideal for producers and consumers and are at sustainable levels, Saudi Arabia Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi has said in a news report.

"As the oil prices are back to their more sustainable levels, I am more optimistic about the future of energy and oil demand," Al-Naimi said.

He warned against politically motivated policies in major oil consuming countries to reduce imports, adding that this could put the world's energy security at risk. "The worst financial and economic crisis in decades is slowly fading and the world is entering a new growth trajectory," Al-Naimi was quoted by Arab News as saying.

He also said, Saudi Arabia will build three huge refineries in Jubail, Yanbu and Jazan as part of the country's downstream programs.

"We are embarking on the most ambitious downstream program in the history of the Saudi oil industry, a slate of refinery expansion, modernisation and integration with petrochemical facilities that entails investments in tens of billions of dollars over the next five years," Al-Naimi said, while addressing the Saudi-American Business Opportunity Forum in Chicago.

Saudi Arabia has embarked on a series of crude oil production capacity increments totalling 2.8 million barrels per day (mbpd) between 2004 and 2009, pushing up its capacity to 12.5 million barrels per day (mbpd).

He said, we continued a policy of maintaining at least 1.5-2 million barrels per day (mbpd) of excess production capacity at all times to respond to market needs and which can be tapped in times of turmoil or supply interruptions.