Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi, in Vienna for today’s meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), commented that Saudi Arabia has again exerted efforts to deflate record-high world oil prices by increasing its output of crude. OPEC, he said, deserved credit for bringing prices down from a $49-a-barrel peak in August.

The Kingdom is now producing about 9.5 million barrels per day (bpd), up 0.2 million bpd from earlier this summer. This was done, Minister Al-Naimi declared, in an attempt to reduce the price, adding that prices, however, are affected not only by production but by other factors.

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