Tuesday 06 / May / 2025
Muscat: The total production of crude oil and condensates in December 2016 fell by 1.76 per cent to 30.85 million barrels, indicating an average daily production of 995,191 barrels, according to the monthly report published by the Ministry of Oil and Gas.
The total quantity of crude oil exported abroad in December 2016 stood at 25.49 million barrels, a daily average of 822,313 barrels –representing a decline of 11.17 per cent compared to November 2016, when calculating the daily average.
The report also said that the exported volume to China was 92.05 per cent, an increase of 8.46 per cent compared to November. The exportsto Japan registered a slight increase of 3.61 per cent, while exportsto Malaysia declined to 2.38 per cent. Meanwhile, exports to India stood at 1.69 per cent of total exports.
The report pointed out that the price of crude oil for the reference oil around the world witnessed a remarkable rise in December 2016, compared to the previous month. The average price of West Texas crude grade in New York stood at $52.84 per barrel in December 2016, constituting a rise of$6.66 per barrel, in comparison with November.
The average price of North Sea Brent grade reached $54.92 per barrel, constituting a rise by $7.83 per barrel over November 2016.
The trading of Oman Crude Oil Future Contract at Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME Oman) rose by 18.4 per cent compared with last month. Oman oil price (February Delivery 2017) stood at $52.72 per barrel, an increase of $8.18 compared to January 2017, in which it averaged between $49.71 a barrel and $54.65 a barrel.
The increase in the settlement price for this month is attributed to a number of key factors that had direct effect on prices, including the historic agreement between Opec and non-Opec members to cut production to reduce oversupply at the world markets at a quickened pace, the remarkable decline in the US commercial crude oil reserves and devaluation of the US dollar against a basket of foreign currencies.
