SAUDI DATA: Crude oil stocks rebound from record low, despite increase in exports

Saudi Arabia's crude oil stockpiles rebounded in September after hitting their lowest on record in August, as the country boosted production while using much less for power generation and slightly reducing refinery runs, data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative showed.

Saudi Arabia exported 6.516 million b/d of crude in September, its highest since January and an increase from August's 6.450 million b/d, according to the JODI data released Nov. 18.

The kingdom's direct use of crude for power generation fell to 543,000 b/d in September from 654,000 b/d in August, while refinery intake was 2.490 million b/d, down from 2.521 million b/d in August.

Combining the crude oil exports, refinery runs and direct use figures shows Saudi Arabia supplied 9.549 million b/d in September, compared to 9.625 million b/d in August.

The September supplied to market figure is below Saudi Arabia's reported production of 9.662 million b/d for the month. Accordingly, Saudi crude stocks showed a significant rebound to 136.5 million barrels from 133.2 million barrels in August, which was the lowest since at least January 2002 when JODI began collecting the data.

Saudi production has been on the rise as OPEC and its allies have gradually boosted output quotas by a combined 400,000 b/d every month since July. The regular increases are scheduled to run through late 2022, though ministers will continue to convene each month to review market forecasts and adjust the volumes, if needed.

Oil product exports, including LPG, naphtha, motor and aviation fuels, kerosene and diesel, fell to 1.324 million b/d in September, down from 1.447 million b/d in August, which had been a 15-month high.

The JODI database is maintained by the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum.