Saudi Arabia's oil chief says allegations the kingdom conspired to bring oil prices down to harm its neighbours are false.
Petroleum Minister Ali Naimi said at an oil summit in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday that "the best thing for everybody is to let the most efficient produce."
"Recently, certain analyses and articles have spoken of a politically motivated Saudi plot, using oil and its prices against this country or that... This is baseless," he said.
His remarks were likely meant to alleviate concerns by some of the oil giant's neighbours that the kingdom is forcing lower oil prices to damage their economies.
An OPEC meeting last month failed to agree on production cuts, mainly because of Saudi opposition. OPEC controls about 40 per cent of the world oil market.
Naimi says lack of co-operation among non-OPEC members and the spread of "misinformation" have contributed to the drop in global oil prices.
Naimi, whose country is OPEC's leading producer, said producers from outside the cartel would eventually "realise the importance of co-operation to secure new fair prices."
He predicted "high-cost producers will not continue to increase production," in a clear reference to shale and sand oil output from North America.
Russia and OPEC-member Iran, whose economies rely heavily on oil revenues, have spoken of a conspiracy in the oil market to keep prices low.
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