Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports fell in April, slipping from their highest level in nine months reached in the previous month, according to data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI).
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter of crude oil, saw its crude exports decrease by 6.9% to 5.968 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, down from 6.413 million bpd in March.
The country’s crude production, however, rose slightly to 8.986 million bpd in April from 8.973 million bpd in the prior month. Additionally, data showed that Saudi refineries’ crude throughput fell by 0.015 million bpd to 2.545 million bpd, while direct crude burning increased by 93,000 bpd to 400,000 bpd in April.
The decrease in Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports comes as OPEC+, a group of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies including Russia, can pause or reverse oil production increases if the market weakens, according to the Saudi energy minister.
Furthermore, Saudi Arabia has recently lowered the official selling price of its flagship Arab Light crude to Asia for July, marking the first cut in five months. This price reduction for Asia, which accounts for 82% of Saudi Arabia’s oil exports, underscores the pressure faced by producers in the OPEC group, amid robust non-OPEC supply growth and a global economy facing headwinds.
OPEC+ had agreed to extend most of its deep oil output cuts well into 2025 at its policy meeting on June 2.