Oman exported 959,000 b/d of crude and condensate in August – its second highest figure ever behind March 2016’s 999,000 b/d – reflecting relatively low loadings the month prior. China, which tends to import around 80% of Omani oil exports, only took 532,000 b/d (56%) whilst regular customers Japan and India took 158,000 b/d and 127,000 b/d respectively. Malaysia and Myanmar also took volumes.
Monthly production remained steady at 970,000 b/d. Despite a steep drop in the price of Omani crude from $70/B in July to $61.7/B for August, MEES estimates that bumper volumes saw monthly export revenues rise from $1.49bn to $1.84bn. Exports averaged 809,000 b/d for the first eight months of 2019. Due to its over-reliance on oil and gas revenues, Muscat’s fortunes heavily lie in the ebbs and flows of oil prices (MEES, 26 July). (CONTINUED - 133 WORDS)