Saudi Crude Exports Fell in December, JODI Data Shows

By Giulia Petroni

Saudi Arabia’s crude-oil exports fell in December after three months of gains, according to the latest data by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative.
Crude exports from the top oil exporter amounted to 6.31 million barrels a day, down by 28,000 barrels from the prior month. Crude oil production instead rose by 126,000 barrels to 8.94 million barrels a day in December.

Earlier this year, the Saudi government ordered state company Aramco to halt its plans to raise maximum daily production to 13 million barrels by 2027 and instead keep capacity at 12 million barrels a day.
Domestic refineries’ crude throughput rose by 326,000 barrels to a three-month high of 2,415 million barrels a day in December, and direct crude burn fell by 198,000 barrels to a 22-month low of 303,000 barrels a day, JODI data showed.
Saudi Arabia this month kept the March price for its flagship Arab Light crude to Asian customers unchanged from the previous month at a more than two-year low, a move seen by market watchers as an effort to maintain market share.
Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com