Oman’s October crude output marginally rises

Country pumped 2.3% higher than the average from beginning of 2018

Oman’s oil production in October was 2.3 per cent higher than the average daily output from January through September.

Crude output touched 995,300 barrels per day (bpd), data from the country’s energy ministry showed, compared to a daily average of 972,400 bpd in the first nine months of the year.

The country, which is not part of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), exported 772,323 bpd of crude oil and condensates, the ministry said in a tweet.

China is the biggest buyer of Omani crude followed by India and Japan. In the first nine months, China imported 179.73 million barrels of crude oil, while India imported 19.75 million barrels and Japan bought 13.45 million barrels of oil.

Saudi Arabia produced a record of more than 11 million bpd on expectations that it would be able to fill the void that was expected to arise because of sanctions on Iran.

But last minute waivers from the US government to eight countries resulted in excess supplies, resulting in a more than 30 per cent fall in oil prices.

“I think the good news is that the fundamentals are not supporting the fall in prices,” Salim Bin Nasser Al Aufi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil and Gas, was reported as saying.

“If fundamentals are not supporting [this], then there must be something else.”

Oman expects oil prices to remain between $70-$80 (Dh257-Dh294) per barrel this year.