From The Houston Chronicle
June 28, 2006, 12:01AM
U.S. ARAB ECONOMIC FORUM
Saudi says crude is flowing freely
Prince calls lack of refining capacity the real problem
By LYNN J. COOK and BILL HENSEL JR.
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
Saudi Arabian crude is stranded in tankers on the high seas, circling the globe in a desperate search for buyers, according to the kingdom’s ambassador to the U.S., Prince Turki al-Faisal.
The ambassador told an audience at the U.S.-Arab Economic Forum held at the George R. Brown Convention Center on Tuesday that 350,000 barrels of heavy crude oil have been lifted from the ground but cannot be sold because the world lacks the refining capacity to turn it into useful fuels like gasoline or diesel.