Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports plunged by nearly 550,000 bpd to 7.687 million bpd in December 2019, down from a two-year high in November, as the Kingdom started to limit supply after the U.S. granted waivers to eight Iranian customers and the market swung into oversupply. According to data by the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI) database, which collects self-reported figures from 114 countries, the Saudi oil production also dropped in December—to 10.6 million bpd from an all-time high of 11.09 million bpd in November. In November, Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports had jumped by 534,000 bpd month on month to 8.24 million bpd—the highest level in two years as the Kingdom moved to offset supply losses from Iran with the return of the U.S. sanctions on Tehran’s oil industry.
The month before that, Saudi Arabia had increased its October crude oil exports to what was then the highest level since January 2017, when the initial OPEC/non-OPEC production cut deal began. But after the U.S. granted waivers to eight key Iranian oil customers to continue importing oil from Iran until early May this year, Saudi Arabia and its allies at OPEC and non-OPEC Russia pared back production as the market started to fear a growing oversupply amid uncertain demand growth.