Saudi Arabia crude oil exports fall slightly in June
KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) — Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports in June fell slightly to 6.889 MMbpd, 35,000 bpd lower than the May level, official data showed.
OPEC's biggest producer also pumped 10.070 MMbpd in June, up 190,000 bpd from May, according to a posting on the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) website.
The kingdom increased direct-burn crude used for power generation in June as demand for electricity increases during the hot summer months. It used 680,000 bpd of crude oil to generate power in June, up 76,000 bpd from May.
The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, when the use of electricity surges, ran from May 27 to June 25 this year.
Saudi demand for oil products rose to 2.634 MMbpd in June, up from 2.535 MMbpd in May.
The kingdom also continued to draw crude oil from its inventories, which fell by 2.253 MMbbl to 256.55 MMbbl in June. Saudi oil stocks peaked in October 2015 at a record 329.430 MMbbl.
Riyadh is leading an effort by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers to curb output and drain a global supply glut. OPEC's share of the cuts, which will run to March 2018, amount to about 1.2 MMbpd. Non-OPEC producers agreed to cut half as much as that.
Saudi Arabia's production in June is only 12,000 bpd above its output target—10.058 MMbpd—under the OPEC deal.
Saudi's local refineries processed 2.577 MMbpd in June, up from 2.517 MMbpd in May. Its refined products exports rose to 1.362 MMbpd in June from 1.279 MMbpd in May.
Monthly figures are provided by Riyadh and other OPEC members to the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI), which published them on its website.
Reporting by Reem Shamseddine; Editing by Tom Hogue
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