Industry sources and analysts said Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports in May are expected to drop to about 6 million barrels per day (bpd), the lowest in almost a decade. As the coronavirus crisis hits demand, domestic refining output is likely to slide.
Under a supply reduction pact with OPEC+ alliance, crude production will be slashed by Saudi Arabia by 23 percent to about 8.5 million bpd in May and June. For this month, industry sources said Saudi crude oil exports are expected to be about 6 million bpd. About 4 million bpd of the exports are sent to Asia. Exports to the US are at less than 600,000 bpd.
In 2019 Saudi Arabia produced about 9.9 million bpd. Falling from 700,000 bpd in previous years, the kingdom burnt 550,000 bpd of crude in the summer that year. However, usage expected by industry sources to rise slightly above the 2019’s levels. About 2.4 million bpd of crude is usually processed by Saudi refineries. As product demand falls, they were likely to use less.
