Saudi Arabia’s oil burn hit 1.39mn b/d in July, the highest figure on record and up 2% on last August’s previous record. Whilst direct crude burn actually dipped to 657,000 b/d, over 200,000 b/d down on 2015’s record peak, fuel oil consumption soared to a record 733,000 b/d (see chart 1 and table for full data). The jump in oil burn for July puts Saudi on track to burn a record 1.02mn b/d for the year as a whole, up from MEES’ previous 991,000 b/d 2017 forecast (MEES, 18 August).
Increased oil burn has directly hit the volume of crude available for export. Crude exports, at 6.693mn b/d in July, were down for the fourth straight month and at their lowest level since August 2014 (see chart 2). July's exports as a proportion of output, at 66.9%, were the lowest since 2010. (CONTINUED - 925 WORDS)
