Oman Increases Oil Output as Exports Jump

Oman’s daily average production of oil continued to remain above one million barrels per day (bpd) mark during the first four months of 2022, up by more than 9% in comparison to the daily average output recorded in the same period of last year. Oil production during January – April period of this year increased to 1.04 million bpd compared with 952,800 bpd in the corresponding period of 2021, the data released by National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed. The sultanate’s total oil production in the first four months of 2022 grew by 9.2% to 124.8 million barrels compared to 114.3 million barrels in the same period of 2021. Of the total production, crude output jumped by 12.8% year-on-year to 98.9 million barrels during January – April period from 87.6 million barrels in the same period of last year, while condensates output decreased 2.9% to 25.9 million barrels during these four months.

India, Japan sharply increase imports

Oman’s total oil exports grew by 16.5% during January – April period of 2022 to 108.8 million barrels compared with 93.3 million barrels exports recorded in the corresponding period of 2021. The sultanate’s total oil exports for the full year 2021 had inched up 0.7% to 288.9 million barrels from 287 million barrels in 2020. Exports to China, the biggest buyer of Oman’s crude, accounted for around 78% of the sultanate’s total oil exports during the first four months of this year, lower than its shares in the previous months. In absolute terms, however, Oman’s oil exports to China rose 6.8% to 84.7 million barrels during January – April period of this year compared to 79.3 million barrels in the same period of the previous year. On the other hand, crude exports to India jumped by 58.5% to 17.2 million barrels in the first four months of 2022 compared with 10.8 million barrels in the same period of 2021. Oil shipments to Japan surged eight times to reach at 4 million barrels during January – April period this year against just 501,000 barrels in the same period a year ago.

Oil prices remain up

The average price at which Oman sold its crude during the first four months of 2022 surged by 57.1% to US$82.2 per barrel against US$52.4 per barrel recorded for the same period of 2021. The highest monthly average price of Oman crude this year was recorded in April at US$92 per barrel, while the average price for March stood at US$83.6 per barrel, the NCSI data showed. With global oil prices continuing to rise amid Russia – Ukraine conflict, Oman crude prices recently rose to their highest level in more than eight years. Continuing its upward trend, Oman crude price on Friday rose 2.6% to close at US$108.51 per barrel (for June delivery) at the Dubai Mercantile Exchange.