Saudi Arabia crude exports reach five-month high as August shipments rise

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Saudi crude exports August high

Highlights

Saudi Arabian crude oil exports in August rise 7.9% month-on-month to 4.451 million barrels per day, reaching a five-month high despite lower production.
Domestic refinery throughput falls by 181,000 barrels per day to 2.297 million barrels per day, while direct crude-burning increases by 43,000 barrels per day to 604,097 barrels per day.
Regional conflict, including new attacks on Saudi Aramco’s Dhahran headquarters and Strait of Hormuz blockade, continues to disrupt Middle East shipments and intensifies supply risk.

August export gains amid lower output

As reported by Reuters, citing Joint Organizations Data Initiative, Saudi Arabian crude oil exports in August rise about 7.9% from July to 4.451 million barrels per day. The data also shows production falls to 6.24 million barrels per day from 8.135 million barrels per day in July, while Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members continue to provide monthly export figures for publication on the JODI website.

At the same time, Saudi refinery crude throughput drops by 181,000 barrels per day to 2.297 million barrels per day in August from 2.478 million barrels per day a month earlier. Direct crude-burning increases by 43,000 barrels per day to 604,097 barrels per day.

Regional conflict keeps pressure on oil flows

Shipments from the Middle East remain severely disrupted since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran begins at the end of February and Iran blocks exports through the Strait of Hormuz. UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo says Saudi Arabia is able to further restore crude export volumes by leveraging terminals on both coasts, and he expects the recovery continues into September and October.

There is no sign the conflict is easing, and attacks on Saudi Arabia are increasing. The headquarters of state-owned Saudi Aramco in Dhahran is attacked last week, causing what the kingdom's energy ministry says in a statement is a limited fire, as fighting between Yemen's Iran-allied Houthis and Saudi Arabia intensifies.

Our earlier article on Strait of Hormuz shipping disruption explained that the blockage is already spilling over into food supply chains, as delayed fertilizer and higher fuel and transport costs weigh on planting decisions and harvest output. We noted that agricultural commodity prices have been rising and that prolonged uncertainty could heighten food security risks in parts of Asia and Africa if logistics constraints persist.

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