Saudi Arabia s April crude exports slip to 10-month low reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Saudi Arabia’s March crude exports fall to 9-month low
Saudi Arabia’s March crude oil exports fell to the lowest level since June 2020, while output dipped, official data showed.
Total crude exports fell to 5.427 million barrels per day from 5.625 million bpd in February, while crude output was at 8.138 million bpd in March versus 8.147 million bpd the previous month, data showed.
Monthly export figures are provided by Riyadh and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI), which published them on its website.
The world’s top crude oil exporter started easing supply cuts to buyers in May as OPEC+ stuck to plans for a phased roll-back of oil production restrictions from May to July.
Saudi Arabia s Crude Exports Fall to 9-Month Low in March aawsat.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from aawsat.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Dubai Saudi Arabia is expected to turn to natural gas associated with crude oil production and boost fuel oil imports to take advantage of plentiful supplies as eased OPEC+ cuts take effect this month, allowing the kingdom to divert more crude oil to exports rather than to burn for power generation during the hot summer months.
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Saudi Arabia typically burns more crude for power generation as temperatures rise in summer months, boosting demand for electricity to run air conditioners and for water desalination.
Last year, crude burn for use in the kingdom peaked to 702,000 b/d in August and was down to 335,000 b/d by February 2021, according to the Riyadh-based Joint Organisations Data Initiative, or JODI. Fuel oil and natural gas can also be used for power generation.
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Total oil product demand will jump by 12% in Q2 from Q1 due to summer drive, increasing liquid burn in power sector as well as recovering industrial activities, said Zhuwei Wang, Middle East analyst with S&P Global Platts Analytics. Gasoil will have the highest demand in Q2 due to increasing road transport on recovering industrial activities and increasing liquid burn in power sector.
Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy, is expected to have the highest oil product demand during the second quarter.
In addition to product use, crude burn in Saudi Arabia typically rises during the summer despite efforts to lower dependence on oil for power generation.