Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut crude oil production by 1mn b/d on top of its existing obligations will bring its output down to just 8.125mn b/d for February and March. With January production capped at 9.119mn b/d, output this quarter is set to average just 8.46mn b/d.

While Saudi Arabia cut output much deeper in June last year – just 7.54mn b/d – 8.46mn b/d will be the kingdom’s lowest quarterly output in more than a decade. Not since 3Q 2010 has Saudi production been lower, when MEES puts output at 8.44mn b/d (see chart). (CONTINUED - 151 WORDS)