Saudi Arabia appears to have made some progress in curbing domestic demand for crude oil, with a surprise jump in its July oil output apparently intended to meet demand from its export markets in Asia and the US, as fuel oil and rising volumes of natural gas have displaced crude for power generation purposes.
Oil production in July topped 10mn b/d, an upward move that came sooner than the market had anticipated, with output levels expected to be maintained at relatively high levels heading into the fourth quarter due to a combination of internal and external developments. (CONTINUED - 945 WORDS)
