Saudi Oil Burn Fell More Than 100,000 b/d in 2025

20 Feb 2026 Issue: 69 / 8 By: Jamie Ingram

With oil burn declining, Saudi Arabia can benefit from increased flexibility in managing its oil reserves, directing volumes into higher value areas. The trend should strengthen in 2026, although seasonality will continue to limit export availability during the summer months.

Saudi Arabia and other oil producers faced a unique set of challenges last year. The kingdom’s energy sector leadership had to navigate the Israel-Iran conflict in June, US tariffs and policy uncertainty from the White House, all while steadily unwinding Opec+ production cuts.

The release of December Jodi statistics (see table for full data) provides a clearer picture of how Saudi Arabia managed its oil and gas reserves amid the tumult, and highlights the extent to which 2025 was a landmark year for the kingdom. There has been considerable focus on last year’s unwinding of Opec+ cuts, which enabled Saudi Arabia to increase production by 527,000 b/d to an annual average of 9.48mn b/d, but the most profound changes lie elsewhere. Oil burn fell by a massive 115,000 b/d last year to a six-year low of 991,000 b/d (see chart 1), and the decline appears structural. (CONTINUED - 986 WORDS)