Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia may renegotiate contracts for long-term oil and gas field projects as falling oil prices and the credit crunch bring down costs, an oil official said in remarks published on Wednesday.

No changes were planned to the oil projects due for completion by the end of next year that would boost total Saudi capacity to 12.5 million bpd, Khalid Buraik, executive director of affairs at state oil giant Saudi Aramco, told industry publication the International Oil Daily (IOD).

But Aramco was uncertain about future global oil demand and did not want to invest in too much spare capacity, he said.

'We are reassessing all our projects,' Buraik said. The giant Moneefa oilfield expansion and the Karan gas scheme were put out to bid when the cost of labour and materials were soaring, he said.

But falling oil prices and tight credit conditions may result in companies postponing or cancelling projects, easing competition for resources and bringing down costs, he said.

Moneefa was due to bring on 900,000 barrels per day of oil production in September 2011. Aramco has previously said that Moneefa output would compensate for declining output at other fields, and would not boost total Saudi production capacity.

IOD estimated the cost for Moneefa at $15 billion, up from $9 billion in 2006. Karan, due for completion by the end of 2011, has seen costs rise to $5 billion from $3 billion, IOD reported.

A future project to boost output from Shaybah by 250,000 barrels per day beyond 2013 was also under review, Buraik said.-Reuters