Saudi Arabia to trim oil production from Sept: WSJ

Saudi Arabia is planning to trim its record-high levels of crude oil production at the end of the summer when domestic energy demand eases, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources.

The reduction could begin as soon as September and would amount to about 200,000 to 300,000 barrels a day, bringing output to about 10.3 million barrels a day, the report added.

According to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Saudi Arabia produced 10.56 million barrels a day in June, a record high.

The move to pull back production is based on domestic demand, according to the WSJ report. Output is likely to hover around 10 million barrels until the end of the year, it added.

The kingdom has the ability to produce 12.3 million barrels a day for 90 days, but it has never pumped this much. Saudi output averaged 9.22 million barrels a day from 2006 to 2014, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.