Saudi Arabia was overtaken as the world’s largest oil exporter in 2019, as the US shale revolution propelled it to the top spot for the first time in decades. With Saudi exports declining and US exports rising, the development is a microcosm of broader industry dynamics, where Opec’s market share has been shrinking in the face of the rising tide of output from rival producers (MEES, 14 February).
Overall Saudi Arabia exported an average of 8.34mn b/d in 2019 (see chart 1), of which 7.04mn b/d was crude oil and 1.30mn b/d was refined products according to the latest Jodi stats (see table for full data). The US meanwhile exported 8.52mn b/d, and preliminary data indicates that volumes exceeded 9mn b/d in December. (CONTINUED - 882 WORDS)
