DUBAI: Saudi crude exports fell in August for the fourth month in a row to their lowest levels in three years, while volumes used by local refineries rose to a record high, official data showed on Monday.
The world's top oil exporter and OPEC heavyweight exported 6.663 million barrels per day in August, down from 6.989 million bpd in July and 6.946 million bpd in June, according to data published by the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI).
The August export figures were the lowest since March 2011, the data showed.
The kingdom's production dropped to 9.597 million bpd in August from 10.005 million in a month earlier, the data showed. But crude supplies - both domestically and for exports - were 9.688 million bpd in August, an industry source told Reuters, indicating no major change in the amount of crude supplied to the market from the kingdom.
Refiners processed 2.167 million bpd of crude in August up from 1.915 million bpd in July, and 2.055 million bpd in June, according to the JODI data. Crude volumes used by domestic refineries were the highest since at least January 2002, the start of JODI's records.
Meanwhile, Saudi oil use for power generation fell to 769,000 bpd in August from 899,000 bpd in July and 827,000 bpd in June.
The kingdom typically increases production during the hot summer months to meet a surge in electricity demand.
Oil markets closely monitor changes in Saudi production because it is the only country with spare capacity to significantly alter output according to demand.
Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi often refers reporters to JODI, set up to promote transparency in oil markets, when asked how much the kingdom is pumping.
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