LONDON, Sept 11 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s oil supply fell by 2.3 million barrels per day from the previous month, reaching 6 million bpd in August — the lowest level in more than three decades — the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday, citing attacks on Saudi energy facilities.
The drop comes after attacks by groups linked to Yemen’s Houthis against ships transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, against the Jazan refinery in Saudi Arabia, and against ships near Yanbu, the IEA said in a report, in addition to attacks by Iran-backed militias in Iraq that used drones to strike the Abqaiq oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia.
The IEA’s assessment of Saudi supply in August is lower than the Saudis’ own figures, which told the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that it supplied 7.122 million bpd last month. Saudi Arabia also told OPEC that it produced 6.238 million bpd in August, a figure roughly in line with the IEA’s.
‘Supply’ is an industry term that aims to provide a clearer picture of the amount of oil that reaches the market, as it refers to the sum of a country’s oil exports — including shipments drawn from stocks — added to domestic use in refineries and power plants.
In its monthly oil market report, the IEA lowered its forecast for Saudi crude oil supply in 2026 by 885 thousand bpd, to 7.6 million bpd, citing a delay in the recovery of production in the Middle East Gulf region.
Saudi oil shipments, including those in the Red Sea and the so-called ‘hidden sea transits,’ fell by 1.1 million bpd in the month to 3.5 million bpd, while stocks declined by 400 thousand bpd, the IEA said.
