Saudi Aramco's Development Wells Will Rise Over 60%.

Saudi Aramco has approved its operating plan for next year, anticipating a 61% increase in the number of development wells drilled in 2006 to support current production and future increase in demand. In a statement on Dec. 14 the state-owned NOC said: "Due to an unprecedented corporate push to increase oil output to help meet burgeoning global demand, Saudi Aramco's new operating plan anticipates that the company's drilling-rig fleet will be more than double from year-end 2004 through 2006".

Saudi Aramco plans to carry out four mega-projects and seek new business opportunities in petrochemicals and other derivative products to further develop the kingdom's industrial base, provide new jobs for Saudis and stimulate economic growth, the statement said. Saudi Aramco's executive committee, chaired by its CEO Abdullah S. Jum'ah, "approved the operating plan, net direct expenditures budget and manpower budget for 2006, all anticipating a significant surge in activities in all the company's operations".

The committee expressed satisfaction with the company's achievements in 2005, given the volatile business and energy markets. It stressed the need to place a top priority on safety in the coming year, saying: "There can be no compromises when it comes to the safety of our operations and our people".

Abdullah al-Saif, the company's senior vice president for exploration and production, said the operating programme for next year was based on its 2006-2010 business plan. This plan focuses on increasing Saudi Aramco's contribution to the kingdom's revenues and on actively promoting development of the local economy. He commended the efforts of Saudi Aramco employees in strengthening the company.

Saudis Will Continue Producing at Current Levels: Saudi Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali al-Naimi on Dec. 13 said the kingdom will continue to produce crude oil at current levels, with the average now being about 9.5m b/d, and respond to demand in the market.

After OPEC's ministerial conference in Kuwait and ahead of a meeting there of the oil ministers from the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), Naimi stated: "I have said we are continuing the way we are. We will meet on Jan. 31 and we will look at the market again and we will decide accordingly".

His comments came a day after OPEC ministers decided to hold current pump-at-will production steady as they sought to respond to buoyant demand in the market. At the same time, the OPEC minister said they will cut production at an extraordinary meeting on Jan. 31 if demand slows heading into the second quarter of 2006.

For now, the ministers have stressed their belief that demand should support prices at the current OPEC production level.

Asked if Saudi Arabia would pump 9.5m b/d next month, Naimi said: "It depends on the customer. If no-one wants 9.5 (m b/d), we can't put 9.5. If they want 9.5, it is there". If the market demands more, said Naimi, Saudi Arabia could provide that also. If the market wants 9.7m b/d "send them our way", he said. Earlier on Dec. 13 OPEC's current President and Kuwait's Energy Minister Shaikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah said his country had no intention of trimming its all-out production levels.

While OPEC was taking seriously the threat of an oil glut in the second quarter hitting prices, ministers pointed to the fact that the second quarter slowdown in 2005 did not materialise in 2005 and the resilience of the global economy could see that trend emerge again next year. Yet many environmentalists and oil economists warn that the current winter was warmer than expected and that oil prices could come down during the second quarter of 2006.