Saudi Arabia's oil minister said that the kingdom expects to see more downstream joint ventures with Asian partners in the next few years. 

Ali Al Naimi also said Saudi Arabia takes 'very seriously' its role as central banker of oil, adding that Saudi Arabia will continue to work to keep prices at reasonable levels.
The minister reiterated that Saudi Arabia plans to maintain spare production capacity of 1.5 million-2 million barrels per day (bpd).
The Saudi minister also said Saudi Arabia produced 9.5 million bpd during the second half of 2004.
"We fully intend to maximise the use of our resources  to increase production capacity to meet growing demand," he said.
He also reiterated that Asia is Saudi Arabia's No 1 customer, importing 4.5 million bpd or 60 per cent of the kingdom's crude exports.
He said Saudi Arabia meets about one-fifth of Asia's oil demand.
On demand growth in Asia, he said he expects oil demand to grow by more than seven per cent a year, but he did not specify over what time frame he expects to see that growth rate.
On potential joint venture with Asian partners, he mentioned current projects with partners from the Philippines, South Korea and Japan.
"We expect to see more Asian joint ventures in the next few years,' he said.