Ali Naimi is not fond of extremes. The Saudi Arabian petroleum minister is so worried by high oil prices -- Brent crude commands about $123 a barrel -- he felt compelled to pen an Op-Ed in today's Financial Times. The last time he took to the newspapers, according to a search of Factiva, was back in February 2009, following oil's crash from triple digits to less than $40 amid the financial crisis.

Mr. Naimi's message Thursday was simple: very high oil prices are bad for the global economy, which is ultimately bad for oil...