The latest JODI oil & gas databases update shows that oil demand in JODI-reporting countries reached a seasonal record high in September, despite a slight month-on-month decline. China, the US, India, and Saudi Arabia drove the year-on-year demand increase of 2.5 mb/d. Crude oil production fell slightly to a 23-month low, with Russian production data not reported since March. Saudi Arabia's crude production rose by 57 kb/d to 8.98 mb/d, while its crude exports rose by 170 kb/d to 5.75 mb/d. Crude and refined product inventories had a net build in September, but they remained 271 mb below the five-year average. In the gas sector, natural gas production remained above the 5-year seasonal range in September, with month-on-month declines driven by Norway and Australia. The update did not include gas data for Russia. Natural gas demand fell slightly in September, but was still above the 5-year seasonal range. The EU+UK remained the largest gas consumer, followed by China and the US.
