Kingdom exports oil worth SR703bn in 8 months

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest petroleum exporter, traded about 1.72 billion barrels of oil valued at SR703 billion in eight months of 2013, with domestic consumption roughly hitting 589 million barrels or 26 percent of total production, according to a local daily.
Meanwhile, French bank Societe Generale has predicted that oil prices will increase as high as $150 a barrel in case a military attack is carried out on Syria.
The potential military strike on Syria will possibly bring about a loss of 500,000 to 2 million barrels per day of oil supply in the region, the French bank said.
However, the surplus in crude reserves retained by the Kingdom would allay fears of investors on the oil supplies of the region, the report said.
Economic adviser Fahad bin Juma said the month of August witnessed important political events in Egypt, which led to rise of West Texas oil prices from $103 a barrel on Aug. 2, to above $110 at the end of the month, supported by the possibility of a Western attack on Syria. In the same period Brent exceeded $115 per barrel, he said.
Libyan oil production fell sharply from 1.4 million barrels to about 500,000 barrels per day, as a consequence of smuggling operations, which has a negative impact on oil supplies, he added.
He pointed out that the Kingdom has continued with its production close to 9.9 million with the high rate of domestic consumption in summer peak, meeting the needs of its customers as well, while OPEC basket price reached above $109.
He expected that the seaborne oil shipments from OPEC nations will decrease by 320,000 barrels per day in the four weeks to Sept. 7.
The average of OPEC shipments will reach 23.62 million barrels per day during the same period, where most of the decline coming from the Middle East, with the exception of Angola and Ecuador's exports, he said.