Saudi Arabia to boost oil production to record high – report
OPEC leader Saudi Arabia is set to increase oil production to a record 10.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in July, Bloomberg reports.
This is a significant rise from 10.03 million bpd in May. That would surpass the previous high of 10.72 million in November 2016, according to Bloomberg.
Riyadh and other OPEC members are under pressure from the United States to pump more oil. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized OPEC for limiting oil production.
"Looks like OPEC is at it again," Trump tweeted in mid-April. "Oil prices are artificially Very High! No good and will not be accepted!" He criticized the cartel again in May and after last week’s meeting, where OPEC and non-members agreed to raise production by 1 million bpd.
US Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Monday that the real production raise by OPEC+ would be smaller than the declared 1 million bpd. "Seven hundred thousand barrels a day is what they are going to, and we need about a million," he said. "Obviously, we have a market that is stressed from the standpoint of supply."
Perry is also said to ask Russia to boost its production at World Gas Conference in Washington, which is attended by Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak. Russia had reportedly insisted on 1.5 million bpd output increase. Novak told CNBC that the hike was sufficient for now.
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