Tough for OPEC to Boost Output When Extra Oil Unwanted

OPEC will have a tough time making good on its pledge to boost production to cool off prices when refiners are reluctant to boost already-ample inventories as long as prices stay high.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer and the only member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries with any significant unused production capacity, told contract customers in Europe and the U.S. at the weekend to expect similar volumes in August as those they received in July.

A Saudi oil industry source says the kingdom has kept its production unchanged for months at about 9.5 million barrels a day because of a lack of buying interest for the 1.5 million b/d of Saudi high-sulfur crude left in reserve.
Schlumberger