While Saudi Arabia’s oil minister on Sunday blamed non-cooperation by producers outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the actions of speculators for lower oil prices, he expressed confidence that the market would improve, al-Arabiya reports.
“I am confident the oil market will improve,” Minister Ali al-Naimi said in a speech at Abu Dhabi’s energy forum.
Naimi also denied politics played a role in the kingdom’s oil policy and said the price decline would not have “a noticeable and big” impact on the economies of Saudi Arabia or other Arab countries.
“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other countries sought to bring back balance to the market, but the lack of cooperation from other producers outside OPEC and the spread of misleading information and speculation led to the continuation of the drop in prices,” he said.
