Saudi Arabia on Wednesday announced that it would cut back oil exports in January by 10% compared to November, as prices continue to fall. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said the kingdom will reduce its exports from 8 million barrels per day to 7.2 million in January, AFP reported. There will be a further cut of 1,00,000 barrels in February.
In December, the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries decided to reduce oil supply by 1.2 million barrels starting January. Members of the group will cut their production by 8,00,000 barrels per day, and non-members by 4,00,000.
Falih said Saudi Arabia’s oil production has fallen to 10.2 million barrels per day, from 11 million last May. “We are serious about restoring balance to the market,” Falih said at a press conference in Riyadh. “We are concerned about volatility in the oil market. We have seen peaks and drops in prices completely unjustified by the fundamentals.”
The energy ministry said that Saudi reserves were 268.5 billion barrels of oil and 325.1 trillion standard cubic feet of gas at the end of 2017, Arab News reported, citing the official Saudi Press Agency. “The results point out that the Kingdom’s reserves of oil and gas are bigger than what we have been announcing,” Falih asserted.
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