Asian refiners seeking more oil from outside Iran after U.S. sanctions - KPC CEO

By Chen Aizhu

BEIJING (Reuters) - Asian refiners are seeking alternatives to Iranian oil from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq after the United States pledged to renew sanctions on Iran, Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) Chief Executive Officer Nizar al-Adsani told Reuters on Monday.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event in Beijing, al-Adsani confirmed KPC has increased output by 85,000 barrels per day (bpd) as part of last month's agreement by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to raise output. Any further increases would depend on OPEC, he said.

"There is demand now ... as sanctions are implemented on Iran ... Some of the companies are trying to find other options other than Iran, be it the kingdom (Saudi Arabia), Emirates, Iraq or Kuwait," he said.

Also speaking to Reuters at the event, Kuwait's Oil Minister Bakheet al-Rashidi said he does not expect OPEC to hold another meeting to discuss the oil market before its next scheduled gathering in December.

"The market is stable enough, we'll be producing more than enough to stabilise (the oil) market," he said.

Al-Adsani and al-Rashidi were speaking on the sidelines of an event during Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabar's state visit to Beijing this week to attend a China-Arab summit.

Their comments come after last month's OPEC meeting where the group, along with non-OPEC producers such as Russia, agreed to raise output from July by about 1 million bpd.

The United States, China and India had urged oil producers to release more supply to prevent an oil deficit that could undermine global economic growth.

(Reporting by Aizhu Chen; writing by Josephine Mason; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Manolo Serapio Jr.)