Trump says Saudi Arabia to boost oil production

US President Donald Trump said on his Twitter account today that he had received assurances from King Salman that Saudi Arabia will increase oil production, "maybe up to 2,000,000 barrels" in response to turmoil in Iran and Venezuela.

Saudi Press Agency (SPA) confirmed the call but didn’t mention the Kingdom’s production boost.

"During the call, the two leaders stressed the need to make efforts to maintain the stability of oil markets and the growth of the global economy," it said, adding that there was also an understanding that oil-producing countries would need "to compensate for any potential shortage of supplies."

Trump's tweet didn’t specify whether the additional 2 million barrels was per day or per month.

The US president is counting on Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members to supply enough oil to offset the lost Iranian exports and prevent oil prices from rising sharply.

Last week, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel led by Saudi Arabia agreed to pump 1 million barrels per day (bpd) more of crude oil, a move that should help contain the recent rise in global energy prices.

Saudi Arabia currently produces some 10 million bpd of crude oil. Its all-time record is 10.72 million bpd.