Saudi Arabia’s crude oil production in August plunged to its lowest level since 1990, as US-Iran tensions squeezed export routes

(1) The OPEC monthly report shows that Saudi Arabia reported to the OPEC Secretariat that its crude oil daily output last month dropped by 1.9 million barrels to 6.238 million barrels, due to a renewed hostile standoff between the US and Iran squeezing export routes. This marks another sharp decline, bringing production down to its lowest level since 1990, even lower than the record low set in April during the Gulf War. (2) As the leader of OPEC, Saudi Arabia faces another setback after several months of recovery, highlighting the prolonged impact of the Iran conflict on Middle Eastern energy producers. This week, Brent crude oil futures climbed above $100 per barrel as another tanker in the Persian Gulf was attacked, while soaring fuel costs are driving inflation and squeezing consumers. (3) The sharp production drop reported by Riyadh aligns with preliminary tanker tracking data from agencies, which indicate that Saudi crude exports fell by about one-third in August to around 3 million barrels per day.