Oil & Gas

Oman’s oil production touches 30mn barrels

Oman’s crude oil and condensate production touched 29.97 million barrels in December 2017, which is an average of 966,952 barrels per day.

Export of Oman crude in December 2017 touched 24.60 million barrels, or a daily average of 793,483 barrels, according to the monthly report released by the Ministry of Oil and Gas.

Nine different countries imported Omani crude for the first time in 2017. While China’s import of Oman’s crude oil dropped sharply during the month by 34 per cent, the share of China’s crude imports from Oman reached 49 per cent. Likewise, Taiwan’s import of Oman crude oil dropped slightly by 0.37 per cent, compared with its share in the previous month, whereas India’s import of Oman crude oil grew by 0.40 per cent, stated the report.

The year 2017 closed with a relatively higher trading price for all main benchmarks crudes around the world. The average price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil at the New York Mercantile Exchange was $57.98 per barrel, up by $1.17 compared with November 2017. Also, the average price of North Sea Brent at the Intercontinental Exchange in London was $64.09 per barrel, up by $1.23 compared with the trading in November 2017.

The average price for Oman Crude Oil Futures contract at the Dubai Mercantile Exchange rose by 1.3 per cent compared with the previous month. The official selling price for Oman crude for December with a February 2018 delivery reached $61.60 per barrel, up by $0.81 compared with the official selling price of January. The daily trading prices ranged between $59.48 and $63.98 per barrel.

Key factors

The increase in crude oil prices in December is attributed to several key factors that directly affected price movements. These factors can be summed up by the release of data indicating the decline in US crude production along with the increase in US refinery activities. In addition, the global oil supply has been affected by the shutdown of pipeline in the North Sea, as well as by Libya’s production decline to 100,000 barrels per day after an explosion hit a main oil pipeline there. Further support for higher crude oil prices came from Opec and non-Opec members agreeing to extend the deal on supply cuts.