6.2 mbd: Saudi Arabia reports lowest oil exports since 1990

Saudi Arabia reported to OPEC that its crude oil production plunged again last month, hitting the lowest since 1990 as renewed hostilities between the US and Iran squeezed the kingdom's export routes.

Riyadh notified OPEC's secretariat that its output tumbled by 1.9 million barrels a day (mbd) to 6.238 mbd, according to a monthly report from the organisation. That's an even lower level than the previous wartime nadir reached in April, which was the lowest figure reported by the kingdom since the beginning of the Gulf War.

The setback for the OPEC leader after several months of recovery illustrates the fallout of the prolonged Iran conflict on West Asia energy producers.


The production slump reported by Riyadh is directionally consistent with provisional tanker-tracking data which indicated that Saudi crude exports fell by about a third in August to roughly 3 mbd. Saudis informed OPEC that crude "supply to market" was higher than production in August, at 7.122 mbd, suggesting the kingdom may have drawn down some inventories.