Monday, Aug 01, 2011


 
   By Summer Said,  Benoit Faucon and James Herron 
   Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

RIYADH (Dow Jones)--Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is delivering on its promise to boost production to meet rising demand and produced oil in July at its highest level since early 1980s, an official from the Gulf country familiar with the matter said Monday.

The kingdom produced an average of 9.85 million barrels per day last month to meet higher demand in Asia and domestically, the official told Dow Jones.

July's production brings Saudi output to its highest level since the early 1980s, when the revolution in Iran and Iran's subsequent war with Iraq stopped the vast majority of Tehran's production. According to the International Energy Agency, Saudi crude-oil production averaged 9.9 million barrels a day in 1980 and 9.815 million barrels a day in 1981.

Based on data from the Joint Oil Data Initiative, which is supervised by the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum and shows data supplied directly by governments since 2002, the previous monthly peak of Saudi production was in April 2003 at 9.745 million barrels a day.

Last month, a senior Saudi oil official said the kingdom produced an average of 9.8 million barrels per day of crude oil in June and was ready to increase its output to 12.5 million barrels a day if needed.

According to a Dow Jones survey, the Gulf state in July produced 9.817 million barrels a day, up from 9.467 million barrels per day in June.

The International Energy Agency said in July the kingdom's oil production increased substantially in June, rising 700,000 barrels a day to 9.7 million barrels a day. The agency, which advises industrialized nations on energy policy, said July output might hit as much as 10 million barrels a day.

It was the first hard proof that Saudi Arabia was living up to a pledge, made after the June 8 meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, to unilaterally pump more oil to meet rising demand. At that meeting, one of the most acrimonious in OPEC's recent history, the group rejected a Saudi bid to collectively increase production to replace lost Libyan supplies.

-By Summer Said, Benoit Faucon and James Herron,

Dow Jones Newswires; +966-546-842-373;

summer.said@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-08-11 1852GMT