Saudi wants balanced market, not end to shale oil - Aramco's Falih

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, does not want an end to shale oil but a balanced oil market where all producers play a stabilizing role, the chairman of state oil giant Saudi Aramco said in a television interview.

"Saudi Arabia does not target to eliminate shale oil in general. What we need in the international market is a balance where additional supply every year is in balance with demand, so there is no surplus," Khalid al-Falih told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV in Davos, Switzerland.

"In the long run there will be a need for shale oil. There must be a contribution from shale oil and other countries, including low cost producers such as Saudi Arabia," he said.

Falih added it would take some time for the market to absorb the current crude surplus but there would be "noticeable" improvement during the second half of 2016 with demand rising by 1.2 million-1.5 million barrels per day.

(Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Mark Heinrich)