Low oil prices mean less future supply: Saudi

LONDON (Reuters) – The steep fall in oil prices is causing “havoc” with investment plans in oil producing countries and jeopardizes future oil supplies, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Friday.

Naimi told a meeting of producer and consumer countries in London that oil prices, which have fallen by more than $100 a barrel from a high of almost $150 in July, were already too low to support some necessary investment in energy projects.


“Today’s price levels are wreaking havoc on the industry and are threatening current and planned investments,” he said.

Naimi, representative of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ biggest oil producer, repeated previous assertions that $75 a barrel was a “fair and reasonable” price for crude oil. Benchmark U.S. crude oil futures for January fell below $36 on Friday.

Reuters