Saudi Arabia’s crude oil production reached in February 2024 a seven-month high of 9.01 million barrels per day (bpd), according to data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI). This represented a rise of 55,000 bpd or 0.61 percent compared to the previous month.
Additionally, the data showed that Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports increased to 6.32 million bpd, reflecting a monthly increase of 0.32 percent.
Read more: Crude exports surge in Saudi Arabia, reaching five-month high
Refinery output, representing the processed volume of crude oil yielding gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and heating oil, also surged, reaching a five-month high of 2.68 million bpd, a 10 percent increase compared to the previous month and a 10 percent rise from the 2.44 million bpd recorded during the same period in 2023.
Refinery output exports also reached a 10-month high of 1.39 million bpd, a 12 percent monthly increase. The most significant rise was observed in motor and aviation oil, up by 45 percent to 275,000 bpd, followed by a 38 percent increase in fuel oil exports to 219,000 bpd, and a 13 percent rise in diesel oil exports to 629,000 bpd.
Saudi Arabia’s direct burn of crude oil, which involves the utilization of oil without substantial refining processes, experienced a 17 percent increase in February, reaching 360,000 bpd, a rise of 52,000 bpd compared to the preceding month.
OPEC+ maintains output policy amid rising prices
In early April 2024, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, decided to keep their existing output policy unchanged as oil prices hit a five-month high. Led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, OPEC+ extended voluntary output cuts of 2.2 million bpd until June to bolster the market. This decision was reached during the 53rd meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee on April 3.
The extension of these cuts, alongside voluntary reductions announced in April 2023, including 500,000 bpd cuts from both Saudi Arabia and Russia, now extends through December of this year. As a result, despite the monthly increase, crude output remains approximately 14 percent lower than the levels observed during the same month last year.
The next Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meeting is scheduled for June 1.
For more news on energy, click here.
