The Sultanate’s total crude oil and condensates production in January 2016 declined by 0.05 per cent against December 2015 to touch 31,198,660 barrels, which is equivalent to 1,006,408 barrels per day.
The total crude oil exported in January 2016 stood at 27,327,522 barrels, a daily average of 881,533 barrels, comprising a rise by 6.65% compared to December 2015.
The statistics also pointed out that China topped the list of importers of the Omani oil in January 2016 by 89.36 per cent, comprising a sharp increase of 21.20 per cent compared to December 2015.
Taiwan and South Korea imports of the Omani crude oil decreased by 6.30 per cent and 3.91 per cent respectively compared to December 2015.
With regard to the movement of oil markets in January 2016, the average oil price of American West Texas in New York Mercantile Exchange reached 32 US Dollars and 51 cents a barrel, a decline by ($ 5) and (77) cents compared to trading of December 2015.
The average Brent InterContinental in London reached 32 US Dollars and 4 cents a barrel, down by ($7) and (9) cents, compared with trading of December 2015.
2016 started with the same trend at which the 2015 indicators closed. The price of most reference crude oils around the world continued declining sharply during trading processes in January 2016 compared to the settlement prices for December 2015. The trading price hovered around $30 per barrel through most trading days during the month.
It should be noted that the international crude oil markets are still affected by the continuous instability and unbalance between supply and demand quantities. The major reasons behind the oil price decline include abundance of supplies, weak demand and appreciation of the US Dollar.
The Omani oil price rate for March 2016 delivery amounted to (27.40) US Dollars, a decline by (7) dollars and (19) cents, compared to the delivery price of February 2016. The trading price ranged between (32.51) and (23.72) US Dollars.