Despite a plunge in demand triggered by the coronavirus outbreak and US pressure to stop flooding the market, Saudi Arabia’s crude supply rose on Wednesday to a record of more than 12 million bpd.
The kingdom said its oil exports would be about 10 million bpd. However, it did not give any indication of how much crude would go into storage.
Saudi Aramco’s production has been increased to its maximum capacity of 12 million bpd, one of the industry sources said.
Depending on the volumes taken out of storage, supply to the market, both domestically and for export, may differ from production. Abroad and inside Saudi Arabia, the kingdom has hundreds of millions of barrels of crude in storage.
Saudi’s plan to boost its production and supply to the market opposes the US increasing pressure to end a battle for market share with Russia. If needed, US President Donald Trump said he would join Russia and Saudi Arabia for talks about the fall in oil prices.
