Oil in excess, but unwise to tighten supply: Qatar

Attiyah said if enacted, the measure could create a problem for the US market as many producers would avoid US buyers. “You will see a lot of oil suppliers will avoid the American market and you will create another big problem.” Opec’s biggest exporter Saudi Arabia has announced plans to hike output to 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) — the fastest pace in decades — but some consumer economies blame the oil exporter group for doing too little to combat the rally. Oil producers have to consider their reservoirs’ productivity for the long run and not only supply and demand factors as they manage production levels, said Attiyah.

Record oil prices are putting pressure on the global economy, saddling companies and consumers around the world with higher energy costs and triggering protests from farmers in Spain to students in Nepal.

Iran forecasts oil at $150 a barrel

The semi- official Mehr news agency in Iran on Saturday reported that a senior Iranian oil official, Hojjatollah Ghanimifard expected crude prices to rise to $150 a barrel in the near future with the onset of higher demand in summer. Oil hit another record near $143 a barrel on Friday as a drop in global equities markets sent investors into commodities. “It seems the prices’ upward trend will continue and it is anticipated that the price of each barrel of oil will reach $150 in the near future,” Ghanimifard, the senior oil official, said.