Muscat – Oman’s daily average production of oil increased to 1.06mn barrels per day (bpd) during the first nine months of 2022, up by 10.4 per cent in comparison to 961,300 bpd output recorded in the same period of last year.

The sultanate’s total oil production in the first nine months of this year grew by 10.4 per cent to 289.78mn barrels compared to 262.43mn barrels in the same period of 2021, according to the official data released by National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Of the total production, crude output jumped by 14.1 per cent year-on-year to 231.1mn barrels during the first nine months of 2022 from 202.5mn barrels recorded in the same period a year ago. Condensates output, however, decreased by 2.0 per cent to 58.7mn barrels during January – September period this year.

Earlier in June, the Minister of Energy and Minerals had said that the new discoveries of oil reserves by companies operating in Oman will help the sultanate increase its daily oil output between 50,000 – 100,000 bpd over the next two to three years.

Oman’s daily average oil production has consistently remained above one million barrels per day during the first nine months of 2022.

Exports jumps 14.6%

The sultanate’s total oil exports grew by 14.6 per cent during the first nine months of this year to 242.84mn barrels as compared with 211.96mn barrels recorded in the corresponding period of 2021, the NCSI data showed.

Total exports for the full year 2021 had inched up 0.7 per cent to 288.96mn barrels from 287mn barrels in 2020.

Oil exports to China, the biggest buyer of Oman’s crude, accounted for over 79 per cent of the sultanate’s total oil exports during January – September period this year.

Total exports to China grew by 9.9 per cent at 192.14mn barrels during the first nine months of this year compared with 174.85mn barrels recorded in 2021. Shipments to Japan surged by 172 per cent this year to 9.21mn barrels against 3.38mn barrels in the same period a year ago.

On the other hand, oil exports to India jumped by over 34 per cent at 29.9mn barrels during January – September period of 2022 from 22.25mn barrels in the same period of 2021.

The average price at which Oman sold its crude during the first nine months of 2022 was 58 per cent higher at US$96.2 per barrel against US$60.9 per barrel recorded in the same period of 2021. The average price of Oman crude fell to US$103.2 per barrel in September from US$112.9 in the previous month, the NCSI data showed.

Global oil prices in recent weeks have declined to around US$90 a barrel level. In response to the volatility in prices, OPEC+ on October 5 agreed to reduce group’s production by two million barrels a day from November.

Oman is a member of the OPEC+ group which includes 13 OPEC members and ten non-OPEC oil producing countries.

The Ministry of Energy and Minerals recently said that the decisions of OPEC+ group are based on purely economic considerations. It said the group’s decision to cut oil production was necessary to reassure the market and support oil market stability.