Free Republic

With Saudi Arabia's latest revelation, there's one less mystery to what's been behind oil price strength over the past few months. While Saudi Arabia has said it's investing heavily to raise its oil output capacity to 12.5 million barrels a day in 2009 from 11.3 million b/d, the world's No. 1 crude producer has been quietly cutting back current volumes. Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published Monday, said the country's output in April averaged 9.1 million b/d, its lowest level since January 2005. Global oil prices have risen 10% from a first-quarter...

ABU DHABI [MENL] -- The United States is said to have blocked the entry of 60 Saudi nationals to study the oil industry. Western diplomatic sources said U.S. authorities refused entry to 60 Saudi students who were accepted in universities in the United States under a program by Saudi Aramco. The state-owned Aramco was to have ensured the training of the Saudis in oil administration. Under the program, the Saudis were to have returned to the kingdom to begin work in the kingdom's oil sector. The Kuwaiti Al Rai Al Aam daily reported on Monday that Aramco, responsible for the...