Saudi Arabia said to slash oil exports in August

Saudi Arabia is planning to reduce its August crude oil exports by over 600,000 barrels per day (bbl) to the lowest level this year at around 6.6 million bbl, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing an unnamed local industry source close to the matter.

The cut is aimed to help the Kingdom balance the rise in domestic consumption during summer, while sticking to its commitment to OPEC’s output deal.

"In order to meet its OPEC quota and meet its domestic demand during summer, Saudi Arabia has made big cuts in allocations internationally by more than 600,000 bpd for the month of August," the source said.

Crude exports to Asian customers for August will be slashed by about 200,000 bbl to 3.5 million bbl. Shipments to Europe will be also cut to 520,000 bbl, down by nearly 70,000 bbl.

Exports to the United States will be less than 800,000 bpd in August, the source added.

Oil majors were allocated some 200,000 bpd less in August at 780,000 bbl.