Saudi Arabia’s Crude Oil Exports Slumped To 28-Month Low In August

By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com

Saudi Arabia’s crude exports plunged to a 28-month low in August as the world’s largest crude oil exporter continued to cut its production to “stabilize” the market, data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Monday.   

Saudi crude oil exports fell to 5.58 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, down by 428,000 bpd from July—the lowest level in 28 months, according to the latest available data in JODI, which compiles self-reported data from many countries.

The Kingdom’s crude oil exports have been steadily falling since March this year, from a high of over 7.5 million bpd in January, due to the OPEC+ cuts in which Saudi Arabia reduced production by around 500,000 bpd, and to the voluntary Saudi cut of 1 million bpd, which is now extended until the end of this year.

In August, Saudi Arabia’s crude oil production dropped by 95,000 bpd to 8.92 million bpd, the lowest in 27 months, according to the JODI data published today. The Kingdom started to implement the voluntary cut of 1 million bpd in July this year.

After extending the production reduction for a month for two consecutive months, Saudi Arabia said in September it would extend the extra cut until the end of 2023.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia and Russia, the key OPEC+ partners, said they are keeping their oil supply cuts in November despite the crude oil price rally in September.

Both Saudi Arabia and Russia reiterated that the ongoing oil supply cuts were aimed at keeping “stability and balance on the oil markets.”

The Saudi production cuts and the drop in its crude oil exports have been tightening the oil market in recent months. The lower supply sent prices soaring to the highest level so far this year at the end of September.