Saudi Arabia’s prince said the kingdom would consider cutting oil output if Iran, Russia and the US agreed to match those cuts, according to media reports.
Speaking in London, the Prince Turki al-Faisal al-Saud said that the kingdom would not repeat previous mistakes of surrendering its share of the global market for crude to its rivals.
“The kingdom is not going to give up market share at this time to anybody and allow – whether it is Russia, Nigeria, or Iran or other places – to sell oil to Saudi customer,” said Prince Turki.
Prince Turki added that Saudi Arabia and other producers would only consider adjusting production if other members of Opec adhered to the group’s quotas and stopped making “under the table” deals to sell crude.
His remarks came days after a meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), when the Gulf member said it will not cut production.
The remarks by the outspoken Saudi royal will add to the view that the kingdom – the world’s largest oil exporter – is now locked in a bitter oil price war with the likes of Russia, Iran and shale oil drillers in North America.
Oil prices have fallen by over 30% since June after trading at around $67 a barrel last week hitting a new five-year low.
He add that Saudi has “accumulated a lot of reserves over the last few years that will go some way to meet our requirements” and that is “big oil producers like Russia and Iran that need a certain price level to maintain their (economic) equanimity.”
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