AP reported on July 16 that, an official from an OPEC country said on July 15 that Saudi Arabia has started pumping the extra oil it had earlier promised, in an effort to ease fuel prices.
Saudi Arabia's national oil company, Aramco, increased production last week, according to the official. However he did not disclose how much more oil the kingdom was pumping.
Analysts said that for prices to come down, Saudi Arabia must stick to its announced plans.
OPEC members reacted angrily to Saudi Arabia's July 3 statement that it would increase production. Except for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, OPEC producers do not have the spare capacity to join in an output increase.
In an attempt to create a unified front, the Saudis have been trying to get other members to share in the increase, but according to Saudi oil officials, only non-OPEC Mexico has agreed to increase production so far.
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
