RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports hit a more than two-year high of 7.6 million barrels per day in August, according to data from the Joint Organization Data Initiative.

The Kingdom saw a 3 percent rise from July, recording its highest volume since April 2020.

It was also the third month in a row to register a rise.

Inventories

The data also showed that crude production in Saudi Arabia broke the 11 million bpd cap for the third time in the country’s history in August, reaching 11.1 million bpd.

Domestic crude refinery output increased by 38,000 bpd to reach 2.8 million bpd, whereas its direct crude burn increased by 3,000 bpd to reach 664,000 bpd in August. 

JODI data revealed that the country’s crude inventories fell by 0.5 mb in August, whereas its product inventories grew by 2.3 mb. 

Demand

Earlier this month, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, termed OPEC+, decided to cut their output target by 2 million bpd. 

The global oil demand increased by more than 2millon bpd in August after dropping counter-seasonally — pulled up by the US, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia — whereas the global crude output rose by almost 500,000 bpd in July. 

In August, global demand stood at 99 percent of pre-pandemic levels, while crude production stood at 98 percent, according to the JODI data.

Russia and the EU

Furthermore, Russian oil production saw a modest rise to 10 million bpd, down by 260,000 bpd from 2021 prior to the Russia-Ukraine war. 

The level of Russian gas production rose marginally for the first time since March 2022, yet was still 31 percent below March levels and at a five-year seasonal low.

The data also revealed that natural gas inventories of the EU and the UK combined grew by 12.2 billion cubic meter to be 81 percent full at the end of August.