Oil prices fall for the second session, and Aramco says it is ready to increase production

Oil prices fell for a second session on Monday after the CEO of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest exporter, said the company was ready to increase production, as production resumed at several US offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico after a brief break last week.

Brent crude futures were down 27 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $97.88 a barrel by 0034 GMT, after a 1.5 percent drop on Friday. US West Texas Intermediate crude reached $91.87 a barrel, down 22 cents, or 0.2 percent, after a 2.4 percent drop in the previous session.

Amin Al-Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco, told reporters on Sunday that the company was ready to increase its crude oil production to its maximum capacity of 12 million barrels per day if the Saudi government requested it.

He added, “We are confident in our ability to increase our production to 12 million at any time the need arises, or at the invitation of the government or the Ministry of Energy to increase our production.”

Oil prices rose more than 3 percent last week after damage to a pipeline disrupted production at several offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

A Louisiana port official said producers moved to restart some stalled production after repairs were completed late Friday.