OPEC output cuts to last five years, Saudi Arabia says

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will considerably cut oil production over the next five years, Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said Sunday.

"The U.S. is the largest oil market, and Saudi Arabia is the largest exporter and one of the world's top three oil producers. The U.S. market will always be a key market for the kingdom, and we recently announced the full acquisition of an oil refinery with a capacity of 600,000 barrels, and we intend to use it as a platform for our future growth," Falih said, during a press conference at the 8th International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development in Kazakhstan's capital Astana.

Falih also said that the U.S. has an "excellent" supply and domestic production in the Gulf of Mexico, and that the oil obtained there is believed to be sent elsewhere, which was the reason the OPEC countries agreed to lower their production and supply levels.

"[Output cuts] will not impact our obligations, and our aim to increase Saudi Arabia's share in the U.S. market. We are supporting this with $15-18 billion investments. But if not the U.S., we will export somewhere else," Falih said.

On May 25, OPEC members and ten other oil-producing countries led by Russia agreed to extend their agreement to cut output for an additional nine months in a bid to maintain current oil prices at their level.