China and India retained their positions as top importers of Omani crude oil in 2020, as per reports issued by the National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

China retained its position as the leading destination for the Sultanate’s crude oil exports by the end of December 2020. China’s imports of the Sultanate’s crude oil stood at 248.12mn barrels, followed by India with 17.80mn barrels, South Korea with 4.99mn barrels, and Japan with 3.92mn barrels.

The Sultanate’s oil production, including condensates, stood at 347.94mn barrels until the end of December 2020, compared to 354.39mn barrels according to the latest data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Of the total production, crude oil production declined by 9.1 per cent to stand at 278.84mn barrels while condensate production rose by 45.2 per cent to touch 69.10mn barrels.

The Sultanate’s daily average crude oil production stood at 950,700 barrels until the end of December 2020, against 970,900 barrels over the same period of 2019, the NCSI report added.

However, the average price of the Sultanate’s Crude oil fell by 27.6 per cent to reach US$46 per barrel until the end of December 2020, compared to US$63.6 per barrel in the same period of 2019.

The Sultanate exported 287.04mn barrels of crude oil until the end of December 2020, compared to 310.33mn barrels for the same period of 2019, comprising a decline of 7.5 per cent.

The Sultanate’s natural gas production and imports rose by 0.4 per cent to 46,396mn cubic meters (MNCM) till the end of December 2020, compared to 46,190 MNCM for the same period of 2019.

Of this, non-associated gas and imports rose by 2.6 per cent to 38,870 MNCM and associated gas production fell by 9.4 per cent to 7,527 MNCM.

Usage of natural gas in industrial projects rose by 0.4 per cent to reach 46,396 MNCM at the end of December 2020, compared to 46,190 MNCM for the same period of last year.

As much as 27,656 MNCM of natural gas used in industries projects against 28,751 MNCM for the same period in 2019.