Saudi Arabia to remain world's largest oil exporter: IEA

Saudi Arabia will remain the largest global oil exporter for years to come despite the growth of the US oil sector, Reuters reported, citing International Energy Agency (IEA) executive director Fatih Birol.

“The Middle East and especially Saudi Arabia will remain the largest exporter of oil for many years to come,” he said at an energy panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The Kingdom’s crude oil exports rose to 8.235 million barrels per day (mbd) in November from 7.7 mbd in October, official Saudi data showed.

However, Birol stated that the importance of the US shale sector should not be “underestimated” as it had been in the past.

“The US produces a lot of oil but most of the time they use that at home for domestic purposes. So even though the US is now a very important oil producer, the Middle East will remain the largest exporter of oil," he added.

Brent crude prices were down 30 cents (-0.5 percent) at $60.84, while WTI slipped 27 cents (-0.5 percent) to $52.35 at 10 am Riyadh time on Thursday.