Saudi Arabia is continuing with its balanced oil policy to support the market's stability, Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said at the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia.

"The Kingdom is continuing with its balanced policy and positive and influential role to promote the stability of the markets ... and taking into account the interests of producers and consumers of energy,"  Prince Salman said in his speech at the summit, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

"The Kingdom has invested heavily to keep the additional production capacity to enhance the stability of the global energy markets, and thereby supporting the global economic growth and its stability."

The top oil exporter and Opec heavyweight has a production capacity of 12.5 million barrels per day.

The comments come ahead of a pivotal Opec meeting on November 27, where producers will consider whether to cut output in order to shore up prices that have dived more than 30 per cent to four-year lows below $80 a barrel.

Meanwhile, Iran's oil minister stated that it was hard to return to old crude prices but oil producers should do what they can to support the market.
 
"It is difficult to go back to the old (oil) prices but we should try to fix the prices as much as the current market situation allows," Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying by the Iranian Oil Ministry's news agency Shana after meeting Venezuelan Foreign Minister Rafael Ramirez, who is in Tehran.

Shana cited Ramirez, Venezuela's main representative at Opec, as saying he believes oil prices are at a very low level and "instability in the market is in no one's interest".

"A $100-per barrel price is the desirable one for Venezuela," Ramirez told Shana.

Ramirez visited Algeria and Qatar as part of a diplomatic tour that includes Iran and Russia to discuss oil markets.

Earlier, the finance minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf said Saudi Arabia would outline its policies for global growth, fewer trade barriers and a stable oil market at the G-20 summit.

He said the presence of Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, on behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, is proof that the Kingdom intends to play a positive and leading role at the summit.

He said the meeting is important because it brings together countries representing 85 per cent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), 75 per cent of world trade and two-thirds of the planet's population.

In a statement issued to the Saudi Press Agency on the eve of the summit, Al-Assaf said that the Kingdom's participation in preparatory meetings would enable the country's leaders to express their views on key global issues. They would also ensure that the nation's interests are protected.

Al Assaf said the Kingdom has formulated a strategy for global growth and would outline steps taken by Saudi Arabia to develop its own economy, including structural reforms and measures for boosting nonoil sectors.

He said the Saudi government would outline its priorities, which include its massive spending on infrastructure and education, job creation initiatives and measures taken to diversify the country's economy.-Reuters and TradeArabia News Service