Saudi Oil Export Revenues Hit SR247 Billion in 5 Months
SHARIF M. TAHA
Published — Sunday 31 May 2015
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia exported nearly 1.2 billion barrels of crude oil in the first five months of the current year with proceeds amounting to SR247 billion, local media said quoting an economic expert.
Domestic consumption during the same period reached nearly 347 million barrels, or 23 percent of the total output, Fahad bin Jumaa was quoted as saying by Al-Riyadh daily.
He said Brent oil managed to maintain a price exceeding $64 per barrel for the July contracts while West Texas price touched $59 per barrel on the back of the reduction of oil drilling machines or fluctuation of the (US) dollar exchange rate. This could indicate that the pricing of Brent and West Texas will range between $60-$70 and $54-$64 per barrel, respectively, on the short-term basis, he said.
On Saudi Arabia’s production policy in the upcoming period, the economic expert said that the Gulf oil producers, led by the Kingdom, are expected to reject reduction of their oil production in the next OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Producing Countries) meeting, scheduled for next month.
Based on data released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), there was a significant decline in the US oil inventory, which is indicative that demand on oil by the end-user will become stronger this summer with the increased passenger traffic to the United States, he said.
Jumaa said the US oil imports grew by 318,000 barrels per day to 7.2 million barrels per day in the week ending May 15, 2015.
However, its commercial inventory decreased by 2.7 million barrels but still its inventory stands at 482.2 million barrels, which is considered the highest in this season of the year in the last 80 years, he said.