国际英语新闻:Saudi oil production to be fully restored by end of September: energy minister

RIYADH, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud said Tuesday that Saudi oil production, suspended earlier due to attacks on two major Aramco facilities, would be fully restored by the end of September.

Speaking to the media in Jeddah during a news conference, Abdulaziz said that Saudi Arabia will maintain full oil supply to its customers this month, adding that the Kingdom had dipped into its stored reserves to ensure supply continues as normal, while oil production capacity will rebound to 11 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of September.

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said at the conference that it took the company less than seven hours to extinguish the fires after the attacks at Abqaiq and Khurais.

During the news conference, it was disclosed that production at Khurais resumed 24 hours after the attack. Meanwhile, Nasser stated that production at Abqaiq is currently 2 million barrels per day and its entire output is expected to be restored to prior rates by the end of September.

"We have a hard-earned reputation for nearly 100 percent reliability in terms of meeting our international customers' requirements and we have defended that," Nasser told the media.

Aramco adjusted deliveries and shipments to customers by drawing on inventories and offering additional crude production from other fields.

"Not a single shipment to an international customer has been or will be missed or canceled as a result of these attacks. We have proven that we are operationally resilient and have confirmed our reputation as the world's leading supplier," Nasser added.