LONDON: Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports rebounded in July to 5.73 million barrels per day (bpd) from a record low in June, official data showed yesterday.
At 4.98m bpd, crude exports in June were the weakest on record, according to data from the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI) stretching back to 2002.
Output from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) rose by more than one million bpd in July as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf members ended voluntary supply cuts, on top of an Opec-led deal to curb production.
An easing of lockdowns and lower supply helped benchmark Brent crude hold above $40 a barrel throughout July after plunging to a 21-year low of $15.98 in April, though gains were kept in check by fears of a second wave of Covid-19.
Opec+ has been reducing output by 7.7m bpd, or about eight per cent of global demand.
Saudi Arabia’s crude production rose 13.3pc month-on-month in July to 8.48m bpd, its lowest since December 2002.
Saudi’s domestic crude refinery throughput fell 13.2pc to 2.09m bpd in July, while direct crude burn rose by 176,000 bpd to 645,000 bpd.
Saudi total oil product demand in July rose by 219,000 bpd to 2.38m bpd, data on the JODI website showed.
Meanwhile, the world’s top oil exporter cut its October official selling price for the Arab Light crude it sells to Asia by the most since May.
Monthly export figures are provided by Riyadh and other members of Opec to the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI), which publishes them on its website.
n The Saudi Energy Minister warned traders yesterday against betting heavily in the oil market saying he will try to make the market “jumpy” and promised those who gamble on the oil price would be hurt “like hell”.
The comments by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman came after a virtual meeting of a key panel of Opec and allies, led by Russia, known as Opec+.
Prince Abdulaziz told the gathering Opec+ could hold an extraordinary meeting in October if the oil market soured because of weak demand and rising coronavirus cases, according to an Opec+ source.
“Anyone who thinks they will get a word from me on what we will do next, is absolutely living in a La La Land... I’m going to make sure whoever gambles on this market will be ouching like hell,” Prince Abdulaziz told a news conference when asked about Opec+ next steps.
He said Opec+ would take a pro-active and pre-emptive stance in addressing oil market challenges.
To those who want to short the oil market, Prince Abdulaziz had the following warning: “Make my day,” he said in an apparent reference to Hollywood star Clint Eastwood’s expression from the Dirty Harry neo-noir thriller.
Yesterday, Opec+’s key panel, known as the joint ministerial monitoring committee, pressed for better compliance with oil output cuts against the backdrop of falling crude prices as uncertainty reigns over the global economic outlook.
The group warned that rising Covid-19 cases in some countries could curb energy demand despite initial indications of a decline in oil stocks.
The panel did not recommend any changes to their current output reduction target of 7.7m bpd, or around 8pc of global demand.
Opec+ has been reducing production since January 2017 to help to support prices and reduce global oil stockpiles. They increased their cuts to a record 9.7m bpd from May to July after demand plunged due to the coronavirus crisis.
The panel pressed laggards such as Iraq, Nigeria and the UAE to cut more barrels to compensate for overproduction in May-July while extending the compensation period from September to the end of December.