Environment & Energy | Friday 29 May, 2015 2:20 am |

Saudi Aramco may raise the number of its oil and gas drilling rigs to as high as 250 next year if oil prices continue to firm and as domestic demand for gas increases, industry sources said.

Currently the national energy giant has 212 rigs of both types in operation and that could rise to between 220 and 250 if conditions permit, sources familiar with the plans said.
“It all depends on the oil price of course,” said one. Saudi Aramco declined to comment.

Al-Hayat newspaper, meanwhile, quoted an unnamed OPEC source as saying that OPEC is not expected to cut oil production at its meeting in June, and the meeting is expected to be a short one.

Saudi Arabia will continue producing oil to meet customer demand, and its output is now at about 10.3 million barrels per day in light of growth in demand from China and India, the source added.

He said Saudi Arabia would not sacrifice its market share for other people’s interests, especially if there was no cooperation on oil policy from outside OPEC — a line which has been stated repeatedly by Saudi officials in recent months.