MUSCAT: Ministry of Oil and Gas of Oman said in a statement that Oman’s crude oil production raised 14.83 percent to 26.8 million barrels or 957,000 barrels per day in February 2015, as compared to previous month.
Total crude oil exports last month reached 26.16 million barrels or 934,289 barrels per day.
The Asian countries imported the biggest share of Omani crude oil for the second month in a row. Among Asian markets, China’s import of Omani crude oil declined by 7.41 per cent, although it is still the top importer, which reflects the strong and continuous demand for Oman crude oil by the Chinese consumers.
Likewise, Taiwan’s import of Omani crude oil increased with a share of 18.75 per cent, which shows a growth of 1.4 per cent as compared to February.
South Korea, India and Tanzania followed after these two top importers in the list of countries importing crude oil from Oman. The ministry report said that the crude import of both Japan and Thailand came down to stabilize at low rates.
With regard to the movement of the oil markets in February 2015, the average oil price of West Texas stood at $51.32 per barrel, recording an increase of $3.70, compared to January 2015. While the average Brent crude stood at $59.26, showing a growth of $9.2 over January, 2015. The settlement prices for various global crude oils in February 2015 have seen a remarkable increase compared to the settlement prices the previous month, due to buying support.
There has been a fall in the number of rigs used for oil production since small producers and high cost fields discarded some of the fields. This is expected to influence supply of crude oil, which may prop up oil prices. Average price of Oman Crude delivery in April 2015 was $56.21 a barrel, recording an increase of $9.48 compared to March 2015. Oman oil contracts witnessed an increase in the DME like other grades of oil.
