RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s crude stockpiles rose to a record in July after exports by the world’s biggest oil shipper declined for the third time in four months.
Commercial petroleum stockpiles increased to 320mn barrels, the highest since at least 2002, from 319.5mn barrels in June, according to data on Sunday on the website of the Riyadh-based Joint Organisations Data Initiative. Crude exports slumped 1.2% to 7.28mn bpd after hitting a record 7.9mn barrels in March. Overseas shipments declined every month since then except in June.
Brent crude oil prices have slumped 17% this year as Saudi Arabia led the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries in boosting production to keep market share amid a global supply glut. The failure of producers to cut output fast enough may require prices to fall near $20 a barrel to clear the surplus, Goldman Sachs Group Inc estimates.
Saudi Arabia cut back on oil production by 1.9% in July, the first drop since February, to 10.36mn bpd, according to the JODI data. Saudi Arabia told Opec its June production of 10.564mn barrels daily was a record, exceeding a previous all-time high set in 1980.
Saudi Arabia boosted diesel exports in July to 441,000 bpd from 308,000 barrels in June even as production declined to 941,000 barrels from 1.01mn barrels, JODI data shows.
The nation wants to keep storage tanks full, partly to feed two new refineries, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said in July. Refineries processed 2.21mn bpd in July, up from 2.09mn barrels in June, according to JODI. Saudi Arabia has built storage tanks with new refineries at Yanbu and Jubail, and domestic capacity will increase after the new Jazan refinery starts in 2017, the person said.
