Engineer Al-Naimi said "last June, oil was trading at $115 per barrel. These high prices were caused by recovering demand post-2008 and, more importantly, by concerns - real or imaginary - about potential supply disruptions. High prices encouraged the oil industry to invest. As a result, we have seen increased production from oil fields that are more costly to develop or operate, such as in the arctic, deep offshore, heavy oils, and shale oil. But just as the supply was dramatically increasing, so demand growth was slowing, and declining in Europe. This additional oil impacted the wider market and there was an inevitable fall in the oil price. During the second half of 2014 and into 2015, the oil price fell by more than 60%. We have seen falls like this before. Oil is a commodity, and all commodities are cyclical. I know that lower oil prices are good for growing economies in Asia, and I have no doubt that these affordable energy supplies will be put to good, productive use across the region. For many producers, the price drop presented difficult challenges. But while Saudi Arabia remains reliant on the revenues it receives from oil, the situation in the Kingdom was not dramatically different. The reason for this is that, during the period of high prices, Saudi Arabia saved and invested the revenues wisely. We fixed the roof while the sun shined. The wise policies of the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud are strengthening under Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud." --More 17:34 LOCAL TIME 14:34 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w