Saudi oil minister says global oil inventories ‘comfortable’

Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said Wednesday that global oil markets have plenty of crude oil and that geopolitical concerns and refining bottlenecks are driving high prices.

Ali al-Naimi said global oil inventories are “comfortable” and said none of Saudi Arabia’s customers were asking for increased supplies.

“Let me say that (current) oil prices are not at all linked to fundamentals of the oil industry,” Naimi said at an industry conference in the Polish capital. “There is good balance between supply and demand.”

IHT