Saudi Aramco will voluntarily cut crude oil production by 1mn b/d next month, with the cuts staying in force throughout February and March. MEES calculates that as a result Q1 crude production will drop to just 8.46mn b/d, its lowest level in more than a decade (see chart 1 and MEES, 8 January).

Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told Bloomberg TV last week that the cuts will be not be offset by the kingdom drawing more heavily on its oil inventories, and will therefore heavily impact Saudi Aramco’s sales. The minister stated that the cuts fall on “our sales to domestic market, and also exports.” (CONTINUED - 812 WORDS)