Saudi Arabia reduces oil output by 2 million barrels per day amid Strait of Hormuz closure

According to Reuters, two sources said that Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has cut its oil production by approximately 2 million barrels per day to around 8 million barrels per day, following the shutdown of partial output from two major offshore oil fields. The sources noted that although Saudi Arabia is diverting more crude oil to Yanbu on the Red Sea coast to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, production has fallen to about 8 million barrels per day after the closures at the Safaniya and Zuluf offshore fields. Another source indicated that Saudi production has dropped below 8 million barrels per day. These two offshore fields primarily produce heavy and medium-heavy crude, with combined output exceeding 2 million barrels per day, while the pipeline to Yanbu mainly transports light crude. A reduction to 8 million barrels per day would represent a significant decline from February, when Saudi Arabia supplied 10.111 million barrels per day to the market and produced 10.882 million barrels per day. At the time, sources said the February increase was part of an emergency plan to counter potential U.S. strikes on Iran that could disrupt Middle Eastern supplies. (Jin10)