Bush reviews plan
by Saudi Arabia
to produce more oil

CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush on Monday pressed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah to help curb skyrocketing oil prices that are hurting American families and businesses, and a top adviser said a Saudi plan to increase production would help.

“When you increase the capacity by a significant amount, which they are talking about, that can't help but have a positive downward effect on prices,” said Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley.

Because of a drop in crude oil prices and slightly lower demand, gas prices dropped slightly between April 8 and April 22. But prices at the pump still average more than $2.27 per gallon nationwide.

As Bush and Abdullah met for several hours at the president's ranch, the Saudis presented a plan — outlined last week in a speech by Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi — to increase production capacity to 12.5 million barrels per day by 2009 from the current 11 million limit.

FREE VIDEO Bush seeks increase in oil production April 25: President Bush meets with Saudi's Crown Prince Abdullah. NBC’s Bob Kur has the story. MSNBC

If necessary, Saudi Arabia would eventually develop a capacity of 15 million barrels per day. The kingdom now pumps about 9.5 million barrels daily.

The Saudis also raised the separate problem that drives up prices — limited refining capacity.

“We are willing to sell oil to anyone who wants to buy it,” said Adel Al Jubeir, a Saudi foreign affairs adviser. “You can't just physically produce a barrel and just drop it on a sidewalk.”

Hadley said the two sides would need further discussions on that issue.

Appealing to self-interest
Before the meeting at Bush's ranch, the president told reporters he would appeal to Abdullah’s self-interest, telling him that persistent high crude prices could erode the long-term market for Saudi Arabia’s biggest source of revenue.

He said he would urge Saudi Arabia to make the necessary investment to increase its production capacity, especially in light of the fast-growing, energy-gobbling markets in China and India.

“A high oil price will damage markets, and he knows that. I look forward to talking to him about that,” the president said as he and Vice President Dick Cheney awaited the arrival of the Saudi officials. “We’ll talk about his country’s capacity.”

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