Equipment shortages hit regional producers hard

Oilfield suppliers and manufacturers contacted by Oil&Gas Middle East have confirmed fears about massive shortages of rigs and other equipment in the region. Former Saudi Aramco official, Sadad Al Husseini raised the issue last month, saying that a crunch in supplies could delay efforts by Saudi Arabia to raise crude output.

Husseini, former vice president of Saudi Aramco and more recently a harsh critic of Saudi oil policy, also said Saudi Arabia may fall behind its schedule to raise output capacity by 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2009 due to shortages of oil rigs and equipment.
This is not the first time that the suppliers