JEDDAH, 23 September 2005 — Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal yesterday called for quick solutions to the worsening world energy crisis, which he said had reached “dangerous” levels.

In a lecture on “Saudi Arabia and the International Oil Market” at the Baker Institute in Houston, Texas, Prince Saud blamed the crisis on lack of refineries and growing consumption.

“The current world energy crisis has become very dangerous and it cannot be left to the market laws of supply and demand. It has to be promptly tackled,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted him as saying.

The current crisis, he said, has different aspects: Production, consumption and political aspects. “Shortage of crude oil supply in the world market is not one of its reasons,” he said.

“Producers and consumers should engage in discussions to evaluate the situation and work on developing the fuel industry in all sectors,” he said.

He said Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil producer and exporter, is the only country in the world that currently has a spare capacity of between 1.5 and two million barrels per day.

Prince Saud emphasized the Kingdom’s efforts toward meeting world oil requirements. “We have raised average production by 700,000 bpd since the start of the year,” he pointed out.

“The basic problem of the current energy crisis... is that the current refineries are incapable of meeting demand of oil products. There is shortage of storage capacity and restrictions have been imposed on the oil industry, preventing it from building more refineries,” he said.

“Not a single refinery was built in the United States in the last three decades, while the difference in standard requirements on oil products from one state to the other inside the United States, particularly due to environmental concerns, has greatly worsened the energy crisis,” he said.

Prince Saud emphasized the Kingdom’s readiness to support efforts for building new refineries in the United States and protecting environment. “Quick measures should be taken to deal with all related problems and unify production standards of refineries,” he said.

He referred to the proposal made by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to set up a secretariat for the World Energy Forum in Riyadh to solve energy problems, protecting the interests of both producers and consumers.

He emphasized the need for finding a just and lasting solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict to reinforce peace and stability in the Middle East and ensure stable oil supply and prices.

Prince Saud reaffirmed Arab world’s desire to have peaceful coexistence with Israel, adding that the Arab peace plan, which was initiated by King Abdullah and endorsed by the Beirut summit, offers normal relations with the Jewish state in lieu of its total withdrawal from occupied Arab territories.

Saudi Arabia, which is currently pumping about 9.5 million bpd, has already said it was prepared to increase its production further to make up for supply losses caused by hurricanes in the United States.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which Saudi Arabia is the key member, decided Tuesday to maintain its production quota at 28 million barrels per day but to offer an additional two million bpd to the market if the need arises.