RIYADH, 10 April — The Kingdom yesterday moved on to calm fears of a global oil crisis, assuring markets rattled by Iraq’s suspension of exports that Riyadh will guarantee world oil supplies.

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi said in comments published yesterday that Saudi Arabia rejects the use of oil as a weapon to apply political pressure on the West.

“We are committed to guarantee stability in the international oil market and at the same time aim at a fair price for oil,” Naimi told the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper.

“Saudi Arabia rejects the use of oil as a weapon to apply political pressure on the West,” he added.

Oil prices climbed a dollar a barrel on Monday after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein announced Baghdad was suspending exports for a month in protest at US support for Israel’s incursion into Palestinian self-rule areas. Naimi’s comments helped cool prices yesterday.

Riyadh has plenty of spare capacity to hand in case of a shortage although Saudi and other OPEC nations have decided that for the time being there is no need to release extra volumes.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, sits on a quarter of the world’s proven oil reserves. Its production quota stands at 7.053 million barrels a day.

On calls from Iraq and Iran to use oil as a political weapon, Naimi said: “We have exhibited during previous crises that the Kingdom and OPEC are capable of guaranteeing oil (supplies) in international markets.”

“Regardless of what is said here or there, the commitment to a constant and dependable price (for oil) will continue,” Naimi added.

Asked what action Riyadh would take in light of the calls from Iraq to join its embargo, the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper quoted Naimi saying:

“The Kingdom’s position regarding the reliability of supplies has been announced on more than one occasion and I do not believe that anything could threaten reliability of supplies on the global level.”

“Whatever may be said, we have proven in many previous crises that Saudi Arabia and OPEC are reliable and stable sources of oil supplies,” Naimi was quoted as saying.

Other Gulf producers have also turned a deaf ear to the Iraqi call.

“There is only a very slim chance that anyone, especially Gulf countries, will immediately follow Iraq’s lead,” said Muhammad Abdul Jabbar, an Oman-based analyst.

“From the beginning, Gulf countries have clearly said that an oil embargo is not on the cards. There is no reason to believe that they will go down that road now,” Abdul Jabbar said yesterday.

Baghdad was trying to achieve a “very short-sighted objective” by milking Arab sympathy for the Palestinians, Kuwaiti economist Jassim Al-Saadun said.

“Iraq exports two million barrels per day, which is almost nothing in the oil market. So there will be no effect on supply, and demand will only be affected if there is a collective decision (to halt exports) by all oil producers.

“There might only be a short-term impact because of the psychological effect” of Iraq’s decision, Saadun said.

Kuwait, with which Iraq is edging closer to a post-Gulf War reconciliation after sealing a security pact last month that specified it would never again invade the emirate, also rebuffed the idea.

“Using oil as an economic weapon at the current time would weaken Arab strengths toward their obligations and would harm the economies of GCC states,” Oil Ministry Undersecretary Essa Al-Oun said.

A European Commission spokesman said the embargo would have little impact because Baghdad’s exports represent only three percent of the world’s output.

“Arab Gulf states have rejected the principle of an embargo, so the risk of extension of this embargo announced by certain countries is small,” he said.

Abdul Jabbar said however there was “a chance with Iran and Libya, but it is unlikely before the end of US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s visit to the region, when countries will be able to see if his attempt to break the Middle East stalemate has been successful.”