International benchmark US crude has been rangebound for much of this year, but prices have rallied over the last month, largely in response to a weak US dollar.
"Consumers are looking for oil prices around $70, but hopefully less than $90," Al-Naimi said in comments following a speech in Singapore.
"There's almost an anchor now for the price."
Oil prices rallied following Al-Naimi's comments and were trading at $83.49, up $2.06 a barrel by 1452 GMT.
"Al-Naimi's comment is probably the most convincing reason," said Carsten Fritsch of Commerzbank, with reference to Monday's price rise.
Dollar-denominated commodities have risen as the US currency has weakened in anticipation the US Federal Reserve at a meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday will opt for a new round of quantitative easing.
When oil prices were racing toward their all-time high of nearly $150 a barrel hit in July 2008, Saudi Arabia assured the market it would produce more oil if demand justified it.
This rally is more modest and Al-Naimi said there was no cause for alarm.
"We're in a very comfortable zone. I believe this zone should continue for some time. I would not predict for how long," he said.
"We are in a very decent environment right now for price. If I can be audacious, I would say producers, consumers and companies are all happy with this price."
In his speech prior to Monday's comment, Al-Naimi said energy demand would grow by 40 percent within the next two decades, with Asia accounting for 60 percent of the increase between now and 2030.
He stood by previous comment fossil fuels would meet 85 percent of the growth over the next 20 years and said Saudi Arabia was well placed to rise to the challenge.
"As the world's leading supplier of oil with 264 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, at current production levels the Kingdom could continue to supply crude oil for another 80 years even if we never found another barrel," he said.
Meanwhile, Qatar, the top exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), expects a glut of the fuel to end in three years, putting it at odds with the energy watchdog to major consumers which says the oversupply could last a decade.
Qatar Oil Minister Abdulla Al-Attiyah said on Monday the Gulf producer is on track to reach a targeted capacity of 77 million tons per year (tpy) by Dec. 30.
The new capacity comes online as the world struggles to absorb new supplies with many economies still in recovery mode, while the International Energy Agency (IEA) had said spare capacity could hit 200 billion cubic meters a year in 2015 from around 60 billion cubic meters now.
"We are at the end of completion of the last two LNG trains," Al-Attiyah said on the sidelines of the Singapore Energy Summit.
Gas prices slumped worldwide in late 2008, as recession damped industrial fuel consumption in Europe and new technology slashed production costs for alternative supplies in North America, just as new LNG plants built to supply the United States neared completion.
Demand in Asia rose sharply in early 2010 and the IEA also expects global consumption to rise by up to 2 percent this year, after falling by an estimated 3 percent in 2009, offering some relief to gas sellers.
"Today we are seeing some glut in the market, but I'm confident that in more than three years, we will see the gas balance again," Al-Attiyah said.
Strong demand growth in India and China could absorb most of the production, he said, adding Qatar will send an additional 7 million tons of LNG a year to China and another 5 million to India.
Royal Dutch Shell is also confident about demand.
"If you look at the potential demand from China and India it's huge, China could treble LNG demand from 2010 to 2020, and double it again by 2030," said Malcolm Brinded, executive director at Shell Upstream International told Reuters.
He said LNG is the cheapest way Asian countries can meet their CO2 targets, adding he also sees demand ramping up from Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.
China's LNG imports are set to surge this decade to reach 46 million tons by 2020, but rising domestic gas output will probably dampen its import appetite after that, consultant Wood Mackenzie said in July.
Al-Attiyah said he was confident conventional gas would stay relevant in markets, even in the United States, where unconventional shale gas supplies are increasing.
"We're seeing new markets there. New customers there. Customers even if you talked about five years ago no one would believe you," he said, referring to North and Latin America, where Qatar has sealed new contracts with Canada and Chile.
But Al-Attiyah conceded that suppliers still face difficulties.
"Today LNG and the whole of natural gas has some challenges," he said. "It's a tough market now."
This was underscored by Nobuo Tanaka, executive director of the IEA, adviser to 28 industrialized economies on energy policy, who told reporters at the conference: "If we assume the current level, the gas glut may go on for as long as 10 years, but there is uncertainty about how strong demand will be from China, so it could be much shorter."
Tanaka said in May gas market fundamentals had changed as the US developed unconventional reserves and the economic downturn cut demand, with the large volume of new supply reducing its import needs and depressing global gas markets.
Despite low gas prices, interest has been rising in underground shale formations that could hold enough natural gas to sate US demand for a decade. The sector has lured a slew of investments by energy firms including from China and India.
