SINGAPORE - Overworked refining systems, a lack of investment in expanding capacity and geopolitical tensions have helped drive up oil prices, noted Saudi Arabia's Minister of Economy and Planning.

Mr Faisal Alibrahim told The Straits Times at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday (May 26): "We have been calling for investments in capacity, whether it is at the production level or the refining level for a while now, because we, like most if not all experts, see a continuous rise in demand for oil.