TechFlow News, March 13: According to Reuters, two sources said Saudi Arabia—the world’s largest oil exporter—has cut its oil output by approximately 2 million barrels per day (bpd), bringing production down to roughly 8 million bpd. This follows the partial shutdown of output from two major offshore oil fields. The sources noted that although Saudi Arabia is diverting more crude oil shipments to the Red Sea port of Yanbu to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, output has fallen to about 8 million bpd following the shutdowns at the Safaniya and Zuluf offshore fields.
Another source stated that Saudi output has dropped below 8 million bpd. These two offshore fields primarily produce heavy and medium-heavy crude, with combined output exceeding 2 million bpd, whereas pipelines to Yanbu mainly transport light crude. A decline to 8 million bpd would represent a sharp drop compared to February, when Saudi Arabia supplied 10.111 million bpd to the market and produced 10.882 million bpd. At the time, sources indicated that the February production increase was part of an emergency plan to counter potential U.S. strikes against Iran and resulting disruptions to Middle Eastern supply. (Jinshi)
