Opec Psst!: Want Some Cheap Crude?

During the past four difficult years for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Saudi Arabia has been its derrick of strength. But the oil industry churned last week with rumors that the rich kingdom has finally grown weary of that role. After trying to fight a global glut by cutting its output from 10.3 million bbl. per day in 1981 to about 2 million bbl. per day currently, Saudi Arabia now appears eager to move its merchandise again. Traders believe the country will try to double its sales by quietly offering price cuts that could include a $3-per-bbl. drop for its Arab light crude, to $25. Saudi Arabia has been virtually the last OPEC member to stand firmly by the group's official prices. The country's large discount would further reduce the organization's already faint voice in setting global petroleum prices.

While the Saudis have threatened before to boost output, the kingdom's aim on those occasions was to scare the other twelve OPEC members into restraining their production. Now experts believe that the Saudis could be planning a serious effort to boost their income in order to narrow the country's budget deficit, which for 1983 and 1984 totaled $22 billion.