CRAWFORD, April 25: Saudi Arabia believes that world oil supplies are adequate but is willing to provide as much crude oil as buyers want, a senior Saudi official said on Monday after meeting President George Bush. “Supplies are adequate,” Adel al-Jubeir, a Saudi foreign affairs adviser, told reporters. “There is no shortage of crude oil in the market today, what we see is a shortage of refining capacity.” Mr Jubeir spoke after attending a meeting with Mr Bush and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah at the president’s Texas ranch.

Saudi Arabia is producing “slightly over” 9.5 million barrels per day, with between 1.3 million and 1.4 million bpd in spare production capacity that the kingdom could quickly bring on line if needed, he said.—Reuters