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Saudi oil exports to US drop to lowest level in 35 years

September 3, 2020 at 9:25 am

Flare stacks burn at the Saudi Aramco oil field complex facilities at Shaybah in the Rub’ al Khali (“empty quarter”) desert on March 2003 in Shaybah, Saudi Arabia. [Reza/Getty Images]

Saudi oil exports to the United States plunged to their lowest level in 35 years, ClipperData – a commodity research firm – announced yesterday.

“The US imported just 264,000 barrels per day of Saudi crude during August,” the company said.

The company’s director of commodity research, Matt Smith, said Saudi oil exports to the US represented “about 50 per cent less than the 2019 average.”

“Saudi crude flows bound for the US have basically dried up,” Smith told CNN.

Experts say that the course-reversal of Saudi Arabia’s path, from providing the US with excess crude to curbing output, underscores Riyadh’s strict efforts to revive the energy markets during the coronavirus pandemic.

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