Other OPEC members may join Saudi oil output hike

By Summer Said

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - OPEC members with any capacity to spare will discuss boosting output together with top oil exporter Saudi Arabia at an emergency meeting to try to tame record oil, a senior Gulf OPEC official said on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia has said it will pump 9.7 million barrels per day in July, the fastest rate in decades. No other producer from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has followed suit, and some member countries have reacted coolly to the Saudi plan.

But a senior Gulf OPEC official told Reuters that other members of OPEC, supplier of more than a third of the world's oil, would consider cranking up supplies if there is demand for their oil.

"The short-term policies to be discussed include the proposal that those OPEC countries that have spare capacity should boost supply, just like Saudi Arabia has announced it will do in July," the official said.

The kingdom -- and other OPEC members -- may also commit to increasing their crude production capacity in the long-term, he said.

"Long-term policies include OPEC countries going beyond their capacity that has been announced. For example, Saudi Arabia going beyond 12.5 million bpd," he said.

The kingdom is close to concluding a programme to boost output capacity to 12.5 million bpd by the end of next year, but has yet to mobilise for any further increase.

Saudi reluctance to increase the amount of available spare capacity has stoked concern it might be unable to do so. The kingdom has always said maintaining the margin of manoeuvre is very costly and it needs to be assured there is demand for more crude before it expands further.