Saudi Arabia Keeps Increasing Its Oil Production. OPEC+’s Output is Now Near Pre-Iran War Levels.

OPEC+ oil production is back near pre-Iran war levels as Saudi Arabia keeps increasing its output despite disruption to the Strait of Hormuz.

The group said it pumped over 41 million barrels per day last Month, up more than 2 million barrels per day than in August. Reuters detailed that, according to its calculation, the figure amounts to 97% of pre-war levels.

Saudi Arabia accounted for practically all the increase, pumping over 10.5 million barrels per day compared to 8.372 mbpd in September. Russia's production climbed 41,000 bpd. The group expects global demand to increase by more than 2.5 million bpd in 2027 to an average of 108.3 million bdp.

Riyadh is also taking precautions as facilities keep getting hit by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. In this context, the country is planning store oil at Singapore's Jurong Rock Caverns in 2027 to strengthen supply security.

"Saudi Arabia and Singapore are announcing our joint intent to establish an ⁠arrangement for Saudi crude oil to be stored at the Jurong Rock Caverns from the second half of ​2027," Tan See Leng, minister for energy, trade and industry, told the Singapore International Energy Week conference in late October.

"This arrangement enhances the ​resilience of the Saudi crude oil supply chain in Southeast Asia, as well as contributes to Singapore's energy security and resilience in the event of supply disruptions," Leng stated.

Saudi officials said that the move would allow them to improve the reliability and security of the oil supply in Southeast Asia.

"Bringing supply closer to key Asian markets would ​strengthen the flexibility of our supply network and support Singapore's security of supply and preparedness," Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin ‌Salman Al-Saud said in a video recording at the conference.

Singapore's Jurong Rock Caverns are located at a depth of 492 feet underground. It can store up to 9 million barrels of liquid hydrocarbons such as crude oil.

Saudi Arabia had used an east-west pipeline to send its oil to the Red Sea side of the nation. It then could ship oil through the Gulf of Aden. However, Houthi rebels based in Yemen and aligned with Iran have launched attacks on the pipeline and threatened to attack shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Oil production has been soaring in the Gulf even as traffic through the Hormuz Strait continues to be disrupted by the war. A recent report detailed that volumes have been sometimes exceeding prewar levels.