Saudi crude exports fell in June to their lowest levels in almost three years as oil use in the country’s power sector rose and local refineries processed high volumes, Arab News cited official data as showing. Saudi Arabia exported 6.946 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, slightly down from the 6.987 million bpd in May, according to data published by the Joint Oil Data Initiative (JODI). The figure was the lowest since October 2011, the data showed.
The Kingdom’s production inched up to 9.780 million bpd in June, from 9.705 million bpd in May, JODI figures showed.
Refiners processed 2.055 million bpd of crude in June, slightly down from the 2.136 million bpd in May, which was the highest since JODI records began in 2002.
Saudi Arabia’s oil use for power generation surged to 827,000 bpd in June from 680,000 bpd in May and 484,000 bpd in April.
June crude burning for power was the highest since March 2013, the data showed.
Saudi Arabia produced 10 million bpd of oil in July, an industry source told Reuters last week. A Reuters survey found on Thursday that OPEC’s oil production has risen in August from July, as a recovery in Libyan supply held up and Angola and Iran boosted supplies, outweighing a further decline in Iraq.
The survey also found Saudi Arabia and other core Gulf OPEC producers kept output largely flat and have not cut back to prop up prices, which in August dipped to a 14-month low near $101 a barrel, or to make room for higher Libyan output.