Saudi Arabia Energy Ministry official said the Kingdom intends to increase its crude oil exports, starting from May, by about 600 thousand barrels per day, bringing the total of Saudi petroleum exports to 10.6 million barrels per day.
“This increase came as a result of displacing crude with natural gas from the Al-Fadhili gas plant as a fuel for generating electricity,” the official said.
The step also comes in light of low local demand for petroleum products after transportation dropped due to precautionary measures in place to limit the coronavirus outbreak.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia revealed its plan to boost its crude oil exports to more than 10 million barrels per day from May while burning less crude for power generation.
“Saudi Arabia will utilize the gas produced by the Fadhili gas plant to compensate for around 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) of domestic oil consumption,” the ministry said in a statement earlier this month.
