Muscat: The Sultanate’s average daily production of crude oil during January 2021 has recorded 730,458 barrels, according to the monthly crude oil report published by Ministry of Energy and Minerals.
Hence, the daily January 2021 average oil production has surged by 1.11 per cent m-o-m (Month over Month) compared with December 2020 daily average production. Furthermore, the per day average exported quantities of Oman Blend crude oil reported at 814,656 barrels, low by 0.97 per cent compared with last month.
During January 2021, imports from the People's Republic of China recorded a drop of 2.70 per cent for Omani Oil Blend, compared to December 2020, yet out of the total exports, Chinese demand remained the highest with 79 per cent share. This decrease was offset by a significant increase in imported volumes from the Republic of India and by 11.20 per cent, with Malaysia's import of Omani crude swinging around 3 per cent during the month compared to last December 2020.
Oil prices for all reference crude oil grades around the world have experienced bullish trend during the trading days of January 2021 -for March 2021 delivery- compared with the trading of December 2020. The average price of West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) settled at $52.13 per barrel, an increase of $4.95 only. Whereas the average price of North Sea Oil (Brent) at the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in London averaged $55.32 per barrel, increased by $5.10 only compared with trading during December 2020.
The average price of Oman’s crude oil futures contract at the Dubai Mercantile Exchange similarly increased by 9.6 per cent compared with the previous month. The monthly official selling price for Oman Crude oil for March 2021 delivery – traded during January 2021 - was announced to be $54.78 per barrel, increased by $4.79 f compared with December 2020 official selling price. The daily trading marker price ranged between $50.54 per barrel and $56.42 per barrel.
Crude oil prices experienced overall optimistic sentiments during the trading of January 2021 due to several factors, which had a direct and positive impact on prices. Among the most prominent factors that led to the price hike was to the new US President Joe Biden issued plans for a COVID-19 relief package worth 1.9 trillion dollars.
In addition, The Petroleum Exporting Organisation - OPEC - expects that the global demand for crude oil will remain steady during 2021. Also, Moderna Company declared the effectiveness of its vaccine against the variant Coronavirus.