Mideast 'to spend $94bn on new oil'
Middle East oil producers will invest $94 billion in the next five years to meet future energy demands, Saudi Arabia's oil minister Ali Naimi is reported to have said.
Naimi told an Opec seminar in Vienna that boosting output from the oil producing club's members by one million barrels by 2010 would require $8 billion in spending, Bloomberg reported.
‘‘By 2011, the countries of the Middle East will invest some $94 billion in their oil and gas upstream sectors, more than half of which will go to expand oil-production capacity,’’ Naimi said.
He said oil producers should be cautious in gauging future demand for crude exports when committing to long-term projects.