Saudi Arabia's oil exports rose in June as the kingdom kept the market well supplied, pumping near record high levels of crude to feed rising both local and international demand.
Crude exports in June rose to 7.456mn barrels per day (bpd) from 7.295mn bpd in May, official data showed on Thursday.
The world's largest oil exporter produced 10.550mn bpd in June, up from 10.270mn bpd in May.
Saudi Arabia's domestic crude inventories totalled 289.445mn barrels in June from 289.175mn in May, data provided by the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI) showed.
JODI compiles data supplied from oil-producing members of global organisations including the International Energy Agency and the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Saudi Arabia's oil inventories peaked last October at a record high 329.430mn barrels but have declined since as the country has drawn down its oil stockpile to meet domestic demand without impacting its exports.
Riyadh has been maintaining high output levels since mid-2014 in line with a strategy of defending market share against rival producers.
Domestic refineries processed 2.381mn bpd of crude in June, up from 2.369mn in May. Exports of refined oil products in June totalled 1.371mn bpd versus 1.361mn in May.
The kingdom has been feeding more crude to domestic refineries as it expands oil product exports.
State oil firm Saudi Aramco has stakes in more than 5mn bpd of refining capacity at home and abroad, placing it among the global leaders in making oil products.
In June, crude oil used to generate power rose to 704,000 bpd from 660,000 bpd in May, the JODI data showed, as electricity consumption typically soars in the hot summer months when air conditioning use peaks.
Saudi Aramco has stakes in more than 5mn bpd of refining capacity at home and abroad.
