Oman’s daily average oil production increased 1.3 per cent to 993,400 barrels per day (bpd) in October 2021 compared with 983,000 bpd recorded in the previous month, according to the data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI). Oman’s total oil production (including condensates) increased by 1.0 per cent to 293.22mn barrels during the January-October period of 2021, compared to 290.37mn barrels in the same period of 2020. Of the total oil production, crude output decreased 3.6 per cent at 226.48mn barrels, while condensates production rose 20.2 per cent to 66.74mn barrels in the first ten months of this year against the corresponding period of 2020, the NCSI data showed. As Oman continues to stick to its OPEC+ commitments on oil production, the sultanate sharply increased its condensates output earlier this year as condensate production is exempt from the obligations of the OPEC+ agreement. The OPEC+ agreement allowed non-OPEC oil producers to exclude condensate output from their production quotas, which has enabled countries like Russia and Oman to sharply raise their condensate output. The average price at which Oman sold its crude during the first ten months of 2021 remained 34.2 per cent higher at US$61.7 per barrel compared with US$46 per barrels achieved during full year 2020. Oman crude is currently trading near its highest price level in the past three years. On Wednesday, Oman crude price at the Dubai Mercantile Exchange rose 3.9 per cent to US$81.93 per barrel (for January 2022 delivery).
Exports to India surge
Oman’s total oil exports recorded a marginal decrease of 0.5 per cent on year-on-year basis during the first ten months of 2021, mainly due to a drop in China-bound shipments. However, the decline in Oman’s exports to China was offset by a sharp rise in shipments to India. The sultanate’s total oil exports decreased to 237.49mn barrels in the first ten months of 2021 in comparison with 238.72mn barrels recorded in the corresponding period of last year, according to the NCSI data. Oman’s crude exports to China, the biggest destination for the sultanate’s oil shipments, fell 5.6 per cent to 198.23mn barrels during the January-October period of 2021 compared to the same period a year ago. On the other hand, Oman’s oil exports to India, Japan and South Korea sharply rose during the first ten months of the year. Oil exports to India more than doubled to 23.31mn barrels in the first ten months of 2021 from 11.34mn barrels in the same period a year ago, while shipments to Japan rose 30 per cent to 3.38mn barrels this year. South Korea purchased 31 per cent more quantity of Oman crude during the January-October period at 6.54mn barrels against 4.99mn barrels in the same period of the previous year.