LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush should be careful about wishing to kick America's addiction to Middle East oil because he might just lose a trusted supplier.

Oil superpower Saudi Arabia could be very happy to redirect barrels unwelcome in the United States into energy-hungry Asia, where Riyadh has made no secret of its drive to expand.

"It really doesn't matter to us," said Nawaf Obaid, a Saudi oil adviser. "We can sell our oil anywhere."

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi chose his moment carefully to respond to Bush's State of the Union pledge last week to cut U.S. dependency on Middle East oil by 75 percent by 2025.

"What concerns us is all the talk about not wanting our oil," Naimi told a high-profile energy conference in Houston, on the doorstep of the headquarters of the U.S. arm of Saudi government-owned Saudi Aramco.

"It's not a major bump; it's something to take into consideration."

Saudi officials have expressed surprise, but not concern, at the turnaround in former oilman Bush's attitude toward the Kingdom, which for half a century has been a strategic partner.

"Bush was playing to a very, very domestic agenda," said Valerie Marcel, energy expert at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. "It's just rhetoric."

Bush faces pressure at home from a public increasingly unnerved by high petrol pump prices, huge profits for big oil firms, environmental concerns, and U.S. reliance on a region perceived as unstable.

"The timing was linked more to the trouble the U.S. administration is having with the domestic impact of high oil prices and the situation in Iraq rather than a deterioration of ties between Washington and the Arab World," said Jonathan Lindley of London's Royal United Services Institute.

Until last week, the U.S. government had been urging Riyadh to pump more oil to try to bring down crude prices from near record levels.

And less than a year ago, Bush pleaded with then Crown Prince Abdullah to expand production and refining operations.

In response, Saudi Arabia presented a $50 billion blueprint to boost its oil production and increase refining capacity across the world.

At the same time, it has subtly shifted its commercial focus to Asia, where explosive growth in China and India was largely responsible for last year's record highs on the oil market.

Now Saudi Arabia's number one customer, Asia imports some 60 percent of its oil from the kingdom, while for the United States Mexico and Canada have taken over as lead suppliers, knocking Saudi into third place.

Saudi King Abdullah and Naimi have just wrapped up a tour of Asia, after which Naimi said he secured contracts to supply more crude to the region.

Imported crude commands a premium on Asian markets, where refiners have historically been willing to pay extra to lock in supplies.

"If we just sell oil to Asia, we would be able to sell at a higher price," said Obaid.

Regardless of where Saudi delivers its oil, it will always be the major influence on world markets because it is the only producer with significant spare capacity.

"Obviously Saudi will still have a huge effect on the global price of oil. Saudi is the ultimate guarantor of prices," he said.

Saudi Arabia has further reason not to feel threatened by the U.S. comments because most believe Bush's 2025 goals are unachievable.

"Realistically, it is simply not feasible in any time period relevant to our discussion today," said Stuart McGill, senior vice president at Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly-listed oil company.

"Americans depend upon imports to fill the gap," McGill said on Tuesday, dismissing the idea the United States could ever be self-sufficient.

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