Saudi Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali al-Naimi said here Saturday that his country will back an increase in the production quota of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) at the upcoming OPEC ministerial meeting.

When asked if Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in OPEC and the world's largest exporter, supports an increase from OPEC's current ceiling of 28 million barrels per day (bpd), Nuaimi, who arrived here for the meeting which starts Monday, replied, "absolutely yes."

The Saudi minister said his country would offer to increase its production from the current 9.5 million bpd to 11 million bpd if necessary. He nonetheless added that he saw no real demand for more crude.

He believed that the high oil prices have been curbing the growth of demand for crude oil.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also expressed support for an OPEC output increase, saying the UAE will back it if there is a unanimous decision among the members, according to reports.

If the international oil price stays high and continues to rise, OPEC members might take a decision to boost production to calm oil markets, said UAE Oil Minister Mohammed bin Dhaen al-Hamli during an interview in the country's capital, Abu Dhabi.

The two-day OPEC ministerial meeting will review global prices in terms of supply and demand as well as the organization's production policies. At the meeting, OPEC is widely expected to raise the production ceiling by 500,000 bpd.

"We're going to need to make a gesture after Katrina, probably with 500,000 barrels a day," said an OPEC delegate.

Source: Xinhua