São Paulo – Saudi Arabia expanded its exports of oil by 430,000 barrels per day in June. In all, it shipped 7.365 million barrels per day on average in the month against 6.935 million barrels per day in May, according to the Jodi initiative, a database about the energy sector built jointly by various international organizations. It increased in 6.2%. The data was published this Wednesday (19th) by newspaper Arab News, from Riyadh.
In turn, the Saudi oil output reached 10.564 million barrels per day in June, against 10.333 million barrels per day in May. According to the newspaper, the volume registered in June was a record and confirms the country’s strategy of keeping its share in the international market, despite the fall in the prices of the commodity at the same time it reinforces domestic supply.
In the domestic market, Saudi Arabia allocated 894,000 barrels per day in June for power generation against 677,000 barrels per day in May. The extreme heat of the Saudi summer causes a significant increase in the use of air conditioning devices and, as a consequence, of power.
According to the Arab News, the country has also been allocating a higher volume of oil to local refineries with the goal to expand exports of by-products, which carries more added value. In June, however, the average volume refined was lower than the one registered in May: 2.099 million barrels per day against 2.423 million barrels per day, respectively.
In July, Saudi Arabia reported to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opep), of which it’s a member, that it reduced its production in 200,000 barrels per day to 10.36 million barrels per day, according to the newspaper.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani