Exclusive: Saudi to pump nearly 10 million bpd in June: sources

>DUBAI/KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's crude output is expected to jump to nearly 10 million barrels per day (bpd) in June but the world's top oil exporter could pump slightly less in July, industry sources said. The kingdom pledged last week it would increase production regardless of official OPEC policy after its proposal to lift OPEC output was blocked by seven producers including Iran, Venezuela and Algeria."Production in June will be around 9.8 (million bpd) if not a bit more," a Saudi industry source told Reuters.The new figure is higher than previous estimates that Saudi would lift oil output to 9.5-9.7 million bpd this month.The source added it was premature to say how much production would be in July.However, a second source said production in July would be in the same range as June, if not slightly lower."But Saudi is committed to meeting all the orders it gets from customers and will increase its production based on that," the first source said."In June there will be a big increase to meet all the extra orders that will be placed and then may come down in later months," the source added.Saudi output last rose above 9.5 million bpd in the middle of 2008 after oil prices set a record $147 a barrel.In May, the kingdom pumped 8.86 million bpd excluding additional barrels from the Neutral Zone between Saudi Arabia and neighboring Kuwait.It remained unclear how much of the oil will be used domestically during the peak demand in the summer.Demand for the five Saudi crude grades is high, the second source said.Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said last week his country "will be happy to blend to make six or seven grades."It has already produced a new blend to try to compensate for the loss of high quality Libyan sweet crude."Light crude goes through a seasonality period where demand is lower in the summer but this year demand did not drop, demand is high for all grades," said the second source.Saudi has said it has oil production capacity of 12.5 million bpd, including the Neutral Zone, after it completed a massive crude expansion program in 2009.-The following is a rough guidance on Saudi production by grade:* Super Light 70,000-80,000 bpd* Extra Light 1 million to 1.2 million bpd* Arab Light around 5.6-5.8 million bpd* Medium around 1 million bpd* Heavy around 700,000 bpd(Editing by William Hardy) Saudi Arabia