A late-2019 Opec+ agreement that allowed non-Opec producers to no longer include condensate in their quotas always looked like a victory for the likes of Russia and Oman (MEES, 6 December 2019). And that is exactly how it played out for the sultanate. The exemption enabled Muscat to boost condensate output by nearly 50% to a record 189,000 b/d, thereby significantly offsetting the impact of tighter Opec+ cuts from May (MEES, 17 April 2020).
The value of Omani crude and condensate exports still slumped precipitously last year, with MEES pegging the annual decline at around 33% to a multi-year low of $13.1bn. But the drop for Opec countries will likely have been closer to 45%. (CONTINUED - 863 WORDS)
