“A secret war is being waged by Saudi Arabia and Gulf Cooperation Council states which are slashing oil prices so as to strangle Iran, Russia, Algeria and Venezuela, as well as the entire “anti-American” axis created by these countries”, Tahhan said.
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“The reserves would not be sold, but the company’s ability to produce from the reserves is being studied”, Falih told al Arabiya, a state-owned television news station.
Authorities are even considering a share listing of Aramco.
“If prices stay low we will be able to withstand [it] for a long time”, al-Falih said, according to the newspaper.
Oil dropped after Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, said low prices won’t reduce its spending on energy projects and China’s diesel consumption dropped for a fourth consecutive month.
The chairman of Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco was quoted as saying a possible initial public offering would not include the kingdom’s oil reserves.
“Another option, which would be the first time in the history of Saudi Arabia, is to actually offer an appropriate percentage of the company at the top, which is everything we do”, Mr Al-Falih said.
Indonesia’s OPEC governor said support among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for taking steps to prop up crude prices is slim, with only one OPEC country supporting an emergency meeting over the matter. “Our supply is tightly, tightly linked to end-user demand”, he said.
At $653 billion, the Saudi GDP is the largest in the Middle East; it is the fourth fastest-growing in the G-20, and public debt of just 5.8 per cent of GDP compares favourably with the three fastest growing G-20 economies (China, India and Indonesia) which average 34 per cent of GDP.
Oil still made up 73 percent of revenue previous year, the finance ministry has said, down from about 90 percent previously.
The kingdom has announced several initiatives to diversify its economy and boost non-oil revenues. “Saudi Aramco will be a bridge for a transition away from itself”, he said.
The Maritime Complex would provide engineering, manufacturing and fix services for offshore rigs, commercial vessels and offshore service vessels.
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An oil industry expert, who asked not to be named, told AFP that despite high-level talk of diversification, a lack of skills and training is hindering the process.
