Top oil exporter
Saudi Arabia
lowered its crude supply by 569,000 barrels per day to 9.741 million barrels
per day in July from a month earlier, the Gulf Oil Review reported Wednesday.
High Saudi output helps keep oil prices down, which is good news for fragile
economies in the
U.S.
and
Europe
, which rely on the kingdom to help maintain supply as they implement
sanctions intended to press
Iran
over its nuclear program.
The kingdom produced 9.801 million barrels a day last month, compared with
10.10 million barrels per day in June, according to the report published by
Petroleum Policy Intelligence.
Saudi Arabia
is on track to surpass its record oil output this year, analysts said
last month, offsetting a decline from
Iran
because of international sanctions, despite pressure from other oil exporters
to cut back and help bolster world oil prices.
The kingdom shows no sign of letting up from its average production levels of
9.94 million barrels a day in the first half of 2012. Output averaged 9.9
million to 10 million barrels a day in July, industry analysts and shippers
said, as the country increased exports and burned more crude to meet an
increase in domestic electricity demand, which surges in the summer months.
That puts the top oil exporter in line to exceed its record oil output of 9.901
million barrels a day in 1980, when the country opened the taps to make up for
a sharp fall in Iranian output after its 1979 revolution.
OPEC last month agreed to maintain its existing oil-production ceiling and
pledged to rein in overproduction after some members complained that a glut of
oil due to higher output from
Saudi Arabia
and other Gulf countries could lead to a price crash.
Since OPEC's last meeting,
Iran
and
Algeria
have called for an emergency gathering, while the group's president,
Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaiby, has already sent a letter to member
states reminding them to comply with the ceiling.