LONDON: Saudi Arabia’s oil exports jumped to the highest level in more than a year in June as the kingdom shipped more crude to overseas storage amid fears of possible supply disruptions owing to conflict in the Middle East.
OPEC’s biggest producer has intervened in oil markets for decades to provide more oil during disruptions or cut output when it felt the market was oversupplied.
Crude exports rose by 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) from May’s level to 6.33 million bpd in June, Kpler data shows. There could be a further increase in July to almost 7.5 million bpd, according to Kpler.
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The increase last month was against a backdrop of concern over supply disruption because of conflict between Israel and Iran as well as a U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear sites.
The OPEC+ producer group and Saudi Arabia are seeking to boost market share after years of output cuts, OPEC+ sources have said.
The increase in June also coincided with a decision by OPEC+ to raise its oil output quotas in June by 411,000 bpd.
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