Saudi Sweet Oil Supply Too Low to Offset Libya, al-Husseini Says

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, won’t be able to produce enough low-sulfur blends to replace lost Libyan output for refiners in Europe,


said Sadad al-Husseini, a former Saudi Aramco executive.

The country doesn’t have enough Arab Super Light to create sufficient amounts of low-sulfur, or sweet, oil similar to Libya’s grades, al-Husseini, Aramco’s former executive vice president for exploration and development, said today by e-mail.

“Although the sulfur in the new Saudi blends is low, many Libyan crude types are lower still, I believe as low as 0.07 percent sulfur,” said al-Husseini, who runs Husseini Energy, an energy consultant.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on March 8 that Aramco had developed light, sweet blends with specifications matching crude normally supplied by fellow OPEC member Libya, where production has dwindled because of an armed rebellion. Libyan exports slumped to 450,000 barrels a day in March compared with 1.6 million barrels in January, before the conflict began, according to the International Energy Agency. More >>>

Location:Cayman Islands