OPEC core’s crude exports gain despite Saudis’ output sacrifice

OPEC core’s crude exports gain despite Saudis’ output sacrifice

Oil shipments from OPEC's Arabian Gulf producers edged higher last month, even as Saudi Arabia, the region's biggest exporter, made good on its promise to cut back production sharply.

Combined shipments of crude and condensate – light form of oil extracted from gas fields – from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait rose by 120,000 barrels a day in February. Increased shipments from Kuwait and Iraq more than offset lower flows from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, vessel-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg show.

The four Arabian Gulf nations shipped a total of 13.8 million barrels a day of crude and condensate last month. With nearly 23 million barrels, equivalent to about 810,000 barrels a day, on ships yet to signal a final destination, the volumes delivered to individual countries could rise significantly.

Alliance gathers on Thursday and is expected to return some barrels to a market off to its quickest ever start to a year

Despite cutting production by close to 1 million barrels a day in February, shipments from Saudi Arabia fell by just 35,000 barrels. Maintenance work at refineries allowed the kingdom to make the output reduction with minimal impact on exports, with some crude probably also drawn from stockpiles. Flows