Muscat: Oman's Minister of Oil and Gas Mohammad Bin Hamad Al Rumhi has expressed concern that oil above $90 (Dh331) a barrel could affect the recovery of economy in some countries.
"I would think that oil prices would remain between $70-$90 [a barrel] for the next couple of years as of today," he told Gulf News yesterday on the sidelines of an Oman LNG function at the Oil and Gas Ministry auditorium in Al Khuwair District.
Rumhi was apprehensive about oil prices crossing the $90 barrier.
"Above $90 would be a cause for concern as it may cause inflation and also impact [adversely] economic recovery of some of the countries," he said.
He also said that it could also affect the American dollar.
The oil minister reiterated Oman's plans to push for one million barrels per day (bpd) production for the first time since it began producing crude more than three decades ago.
"We are aiming for one million [bpd] by 2015 and we also working at it," he said.
He denied that recovery was a problem. "Recovery is not a problem but exploration could be a problem we are facing," he said, adding that if they are successful in exploring further, then they may go beyond one million bpd by 2015.
"If we can, we would go for one million bpd even before the deadline of 2015," stressed Al Rumhi.
Hydrocarbon exploration
Oman and its foreign partners are pursuing massive expansion plans in the hydrocarbon sector to reverse a decline in oil production in previous years.
The country is also engaged in pursuing an extensive oil and gas exploration programme onshore as well as offshore.
Meanwhile, according to statistics released by the National Economy Ministry, Oman's total oil production rose by 6.6 per cent in the first 10 months of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009.
The country's total crude production amounted to 261.7 million barrel as of the end of October compared to 245.4 million barrel in the same period in 2009. The average daily production rose to 860,800 bpd and its average price rose 41.9 per cent to hit $76.38 a barrel in the same period.
Oman is not a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).
