Saudi Arabia ready to meet crude demand

September 12, 2013

Seoul, Sep 12: The global oil market is well balanced and top exporter Saudi Arabia ready to supply whatever volume of crude is needed to meet demand, Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi said.

Saudi Arabia produced record high volumes of crude in August as it boosted output for the second time in two years to cushion the global oil market from supply disruptions.

Al-Naimi’s comments come after producer group OPEC this week sought to reassure consumers there is sufficient supply to cover a plunge in Libya’s output.

“For the record, oil market fundamentals are good. The market is well balanced,” Al-Naimi said at an industry event.

“I repeat the message that Saudi Arabia is willing and capable for meeting any demand.”

Despite rising Saudi output, benchmark Brent crude prices spiked above $117 a barrel in late August on the virtual shutdown of Libyan oil output and the prospect of US military action against Syria.

Brent traded at $111.67 on Thursday, after falling this week as the threat of a US strike receded, but the market remains volatile on concern diplomatic efforts to avoid military action might fail.

Speculation about international political events is driving oil prices rather than any shortage in supply, Al-Naimi said.

“Our (OPEC) production last month was almost the same as a month before, only 100,000 barrels a day shortage. There is no effect whatsoever...we won’t see a crisis,” said Abdullah Al-Badri, the secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Saudi Arabia pumped a record 10.19 million barrels per day in August, an industry source told Reuters.

Rising supply from Saudi helped offset losses from other OPEC members. OPEC output in August fell around 124,000 bpd on the month to 30.23 million bpd, but the group said in its monthly report this week that the market was well supplied.

The US Energy Department expressed similar sentiments on supply, but noted that unplanned outages from OPEC members had reached 2.1 million bpd in August, the highest level recorded since it started tracking outages in January 2009.

Protests at oilfields and terminals in Libya saw output slump to a post-war low of just 150,000 bpd in early September, down from 1.4 million bpd earlier this year.

Al-Badri said oil producers would boost supply if they did see any shortage, but said there was no need to pump more for now.

“If we see there is a shortage in the market, we will act. That’s how we do business,” he said at the same event in Seoul. “The market is very well supplied, we don’t see a shortage.”

Al-Badri, himself from Libya, said he hoped the Libyan government would move swiftly to boost supply.

Libya’s attorney general has issued arrest warrants for the leaders of oil strikers and will act soon against protesters, the country’s prime minister said on Wednesday.

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Syrian Town erupts after Israeli forces enter Beit Jinn; heavy casualties reported

News Network

November 28,2025

Several Syrians were killed and more than two dozen others injured in Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Damascus, amid intensified incursions by the occupying regime since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad and the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rule.

Syrian state TV reported that the casualties occurred during an overnight Israeli assault involving helicopters and drones on the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside. The attack followed an Israeli military unit’s entry into the town, where they were surrounded by local residents, leading to gunfire and direct confrontations.

According to the report, “The occupation army’s helicopters and artillery shelled Beit Jinn, located at the foothills of Mount Hermon, resulting in 13 martyrs and 25 injured civilians.” The broadcaster did not specify the full extent of damage.

Al-Ikhbariyah Syria confirmed that the shelling coincided with Israeli soldiers entering Beit Jinn, while artillery pounded surrounding areas. The broadcaster stated that the escalation began after local residents clashed with an Israeli patrol that had infiltrated the southern town and “kidnapped” three young men.

Following a two-hour exchange of heavy fire, Israeli forces withdrew and repositioned on the hill of Butt al-Warda at the town’s outskirts.

Israeli media acknowledged that six soldiers were wounded in the clashes—three of them seriously—describing the confrontation as a “sudden ambush” that forced the deployment of reserve units and air support to secure an exit route. No further details were provided.

The aggression has fueled renewed displacement from Beit Jinn, with residents fleeing to nearby villages amid increasingly frequent Israeli attacks.

The raid came just a day after Israeli troops carried out another ground incursion into Umm al-Luqas village in Quneitra province. According to SANA, an Israeli unit in four vehicles entered the village, raided several homes, and later withdrew.

Syria condemned the repeated incursions as violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and UN resolutions, urging the international community to enforce compliance and pressure Israel to halt its operations and withdraw fully.

Israel has expanded its attacks across Syrian territory following the collapse of the Assad government last year. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly instructed his forces to push deeper into Syrian territory and seize strategic positions.

Meanwhile, critics say the HTS-led interim government’s inaction and growing normalization gestures toward Israel have emboldened Tel Aviv to intensify its military operations. HTS, formerly linked to al-Qaeda, seized control of Damascus last December, formally ending Assad’s rule.

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