Oman boosts crude output to as much as possible

Baku.23 February.REPORT.AZ/ Oman producing all-out on oil as price rout seen over, Report informs citing foreign media. Oman, the biggest Middle Eastern oil producer that’s not a member of OPEC, is boosting crude output to as much as possible with the global price rout over, Salim Al Aufi, undersecretary of the oil and gas ministry, said.

According to him, Oman will produce 980,000 barrels a day this year. Al Aufi said in an interview in Muscat on Sunday, it would be 4 percent higher than in 2013, according to BP Plc data. Oman will provide 2014 production figures in April, Al Aufi said.

“It’s crucial that we continue executing the future projects,” Al Aufi said. “It’s crucial that we continue the seismic activities and the exploration activities because when the market turns around, we need to have these opportunities identified and ready to go.”

Rising supply from the U.S. to Russia and slower growth in China, the world’s second-biggest oil user, are contributing to a worldwide crude surplus that Oman estimates at 1 million barrels a day. Brent crude futures have climbed 4.3 percent this year and were 42 cents lower at $59.80 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange at 8:54 a.m. local time. The contract fell 48 percent last year.