ID :
92873
Thu, 12/03/2009 - 00:37
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/92873
The shortlink copeid
Impact of Dubai debt crisis to be minimal in Middle East: Saudi Aramco CEO
By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, Dec. 2 (Yonhap) -- The effects of the Dubai debt crisis will not spill
over to other sectors in the region, as the federal government of the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) is sufficiently capitalized, the president of Saudi Aramco said
Wednesday.
"The UAE is a wealthy country with a lot of reserves, and many sectors in the UAE
are extremely profitable and healthy," said Khalid A. Al-Falih at a Seoul
university. "So I'm not concerned that there will be a wider effect on the region
or other sectors within the region."
Last week, Dubai World, the emirate's investment vehicle, asked creditors if it
could postpone payments on around US$60 billion in debt for six months, stoking
concerns over sparking another financial crisis on the heels of last year's
collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Al-Falih said Saudi Arabia in particular will suffer no impact from the debt
postponement by Dubai World because the country is largely self-standing.
"The banks in Saudi Arabia are extremely well-capitalized, our real estate sector
was not leveraged, our stock market valuation is very low, most of our industries
are carrying a limited amount of debt," he said, adding that he believes the
Dubai problem to be "contained and resolved in the due course."
Saudi Aramco, which manages the world's largest proven oil reserves in Saudi
Arabia, is the largest shareholder of South Korea's S-Oil Corp and supplies 30
percent of the crude oil that South Korea's SK Energy Co. imports. The company
currently produces 12 million barrels per day, accounting for 15 percent of the
world's demand for oil.
Al-Falih said that his company strives to keep crude oil prices at a "fair and
moderate level" that is low enough to drive healthy economic growth, but also
high enough to attract investment to finance development and production of remote
oil reservoirs.
"You need prices certainly above 70, between 75 and 80 I believe are healthy,"
Al-Falih said of the oil prices per barrel in U.S. dollar terms.
Citing the recent discovery of Brazil's offshore oil reservoir in the deep sea,
which requires long-term investment of large capital, he said keeping oil prices
above a threshold for investment helps sustain such remote and expensive oil
projects.
ylee@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Dec. 2 (Yonhap) -- The effects of the Dubai debt crisis will not spill
over to other sectors in the region, as the federal government of the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) is sufficiently capitalized, the president of Saudi Aramco said
Wednesday.
"The UAE is a wealthy country with a lot of reserves, and many sectors in the UAE
are extremely profitable and healthy," said Khalid A. Al-Falih at a Seoul
university. "So I'm not concerned that there will be a wider effect on the region
or other sectors within the region."
Last week, Dubai World, the emirate's investment vehicle, asked creditors if it
could postpone payments on around US$60 billion in debt for six months, stoking
concerns over sparking another financial crisis on the heels of last year's
collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Al-Falih said Saudi Arabia in particular will suffer no impact from the debt
postponement by Dubai World because the country is largely self-standing.
"The banks in Saudi Arabia are extremely well-capitalized, our real estate sector
was not leveraged, our stock market valuation is very low, most of our industries
are carrying a limited amount of debt," he said, adding that he believes the
Dubai problem to be "contained and resolved in the due course."
Saudi Aramco, which manages the world's largest proven oil reserves in Saudi
Arabia, is the largest shareholder of South Korea's S-Oil Corp and supplies 30
percent of the crude oil that South Korea's SK Energy Co. imports. The company
currently produces 12 million barrels per day, accounting for 15 percent of the
world's demand for oil.
Al-Falih said that his company strives to keep crude oil prices at a "fair and
moderate level" that is low enough to drive healthy economic growth, but also
high enough to attract investment to finance development and production of remote
oil reservoirs.
"You need prices certainly above 70, between 75 and 80 I believe are healthy,"
Al-Falih said of the oil prices per barrel in U.S. dollar terms.
Citing the recent discovery of Brazil's offshore oil reservoir in the deep sea,
which requires long-term investment of large capital, he said keeping oil prices
above a threshold for investment helps sustain such remote and expensive oil
projects.
ylee@yna.co.kr
(END)
