Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports jumped to a 22-month high of 7.70 million bpd in October, as OPEC’s biggest oil producer and exporter ramped up shipments ahead of the return of the U.S. sanctions on Iran. According to data by the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI) database, which collects self-reported figures from 114 countries, Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports in October increased by 268,000 bpd from September to the highest level since January 2017, when the initial OPEC/non-OPEC production cut deal began. Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports in September had also increased from August – by 219,000 bpd from August to a high of 7.43 million bpd, Saudi Arabia’s self-reported data to JODI showed last month. The high Saudi oil exports in September and October were in response to the U.S. pledge to drive Iranian exports down to ‘zero’, which market participants interpreted as an imminent supply crunch. Saudi […]