Oman’s oil output up 2.6% in Q1 but exports drop 6.8%

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Muscat – Oman’s daily average production of crude oil increased to 1.064mn barrels per day (bpd) during the first quarter of 2023, up by 2.6 per cent in comparison to 1.036mn bpd output recorded in the same period of last year.

The sultanate’s total oil production in the first three months of this year grew by 2.6 per cent to 95.7mn barrels compared to 93.3mn barrels in the same period of 2022, according to the statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Of the total production, crude output increased by 2.2 per cent year-on-year to 75.3mn barrels during the first quarter, while condensates output increased 4.1 per cent to 20.4mn barrels during January – March period.

However, Oman’s total oil exports dropped by 6.8 per cent during the first three months of 2023 to 76.04mn barrels as compared with 81.6mn barrels recorded in the corresponding period of 2022, the NCSI data showed.

The sultanate’s total oil production for the full year 2022 increased by nearly 10 per cent to 388.4mn barrels compared to 354.5mn barrels in 2021.

Exports to China rise

Increased exports to China, the biggest buyer of Oman’s crude, mainly driven the growth in Oman’s total oil exports. Oman’s oil shipments to China accounted for more than 90 per cent of the sultanate’s total oil exports during the first quarter of this year.

Total exports to China grew by 8.6 per cent to 69.8mn barrels during the first quarter of 2023 compared to 64.3mn barrels recorded in the same period of 2022.

On the other hand, exports to India plunged by 86 per cent to just 1.7mn barrels in the first three months of this year from 12mn barrels in the same period of 2022.

The average price at which Oman sold its crude during the first quarter of 2023 increased 3.2 per cent to US$81.5 per barrel against US$79 per barrel recorded in the same period of 2022. The average price for March increased to US$80.9 per barrel from US$77.4 in February, the NCSI data showed.

Last week Oman crude price at the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) reached to its highest level in the more than five months, mainly supported by the OPEC+ production cuts and expectations of a tighter oil market.

The surprise production cuts announced by the OPEC+ alliance at the start of April provided a big boost to global oil prices that had slid to a 15-month lows in March following the banking sector crisis in the US and the resulting fears of a contagion to other regions and asset classes.

Oman crude prices remained above the US$80 per barrel mark during April after the announcement by OPEC+ to implement additional cuts till the end of the year.