Saudi Arabia has lost $2 billion worth of its oil production after Yemen’s retaliatory operations on the kingdom’s vital energy infrastructure last month, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The kingdom’s output fell by nearly 1.3mn barrels a day in September, from the previous month, according to data submitted to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries [OPEC] by analysts and consultants, which is used by the cartel to set official production targets.
Saudi Arabia claimed to OPEC’s research arm that production was only hit by 660,000 bpd, according to a monthly oil market report published on Thursday.
Riyadh has sought to emphasize its ability to bring production back to normal levels and the resiliency of the state energy group Saudi Aramco, FT reported Thursday.
The country has tried to maintain its exports using oil in storage. However, energy consultants, analysts and industry executives have questioned the ability of the country’s production and exports to recover to above 9mn bpd within weeks.
It is also unclear how Saudi officials are going to stop such attacks from happening again.
The operation by Yemeni Ansarullah revolutionary movement last month shut down 5.7 million bpd of Saudi Arabia’s oil production, which represents more than half or five percent of the kingdom’s of global output.
Energy analysts have said the raid was akin to a massive heart attack for the oil market and global economy. It has already plunged OPEC’s oil production to the lowest level since 2011.
The attacks would also cause a decline in Saudi Arabia’s economic growth this year, the World Bank said in a report.
The report published on Thursday revised forecast about Saudi Arabia’s yearly growth of gross domestic product [GDP] from an earlier 1.7% announced in April to 0.8%, saying the decline was mainly due to oil production cuts caused by September 14 attacks as well as a worsening global outlook.
“The attacks on Saudi oil facilities in September led to a significant supply disruption which is also expected to impact 2019 growth,” said the report about the operation launched by Ansarullah who are targeting oil facilities run by state-run Aramco Company in eastern Saudi Arabia.
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