Saudi Arabia cut its crude oil exports in December under the OPEC agreement, falling from a two-year high in the previous month, according to Prussian Energy Information.

As the world’s largest exporter of crude oil, Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports in December were 76.87 million barrels per day, down 548,000 barrels per day from November, when shipments reached their highest level since November 2016, just before the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) began implementing the production reduction agreement in January 2017.

JODI data show that refinery output fell to 2.684 million barrels per day in December, a decrease of 152,000 barrels per day compared with November, while direct combustion of electricity-generating crude oil increased to 364,000 barrels per day, an increase of 36,000 barrels per day.

According to JODI data, crude oil inventories fell to 205.376 million barrels, down 16% year-on-year.

Saudi Arabia reported to OPEC earlier this month that its crude oil production fell to 10.243 million barrels a day in January as a result of a sharp reduction in production before the new reduction agreement came into force on January 1.

Saudi energy minister Khalid Fallich told the Financial Times last week that production in March would fall to 9.8 million barrels a day, below the 10.311 million barrels a day quota set in its latest agreement. He added that exports would fall to about 6.9 million barrels a day.