Saudi Arabia said on Monday it will trim crude exports to Asian customers in January to help accelerate the rebalancing of the international oil market. An energy ministry spokesman said state-owned Aramco will maintain "steady supplies to the United States and Europe while exports to Asia will be reduced by more than 100,000 barrels per day" from December's production levels.
"This is in line with our continued demonstration of keeping to, and in fact, exceeding, our commitments under the declaration of cooperation," he said in reference to the deal by producers to cut production by 1.8 million bpd. The agreement was last month extended until the end of 2018 in a bid to remove a supply glut from the market that has sent oil prices crashing.
About 24 producing countries, including all 14 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC Russia, the world's top producer, are signatories to the deal. "We hope that by leading by example, our partners from OPEC and non-OPEC will do the same in order to keep conformity levels above 100 percent and accelerate the rebalancing of the market," the spokesman said. The deal has helped oil prices to rebound from below $30 a barrel at the start of last year to more than $60 a barrel currently.