RIYADH: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Iraq are set to help ease a forecasted diesel crunch by producing an additional million barrels per day in 2023, Bloomberg reported.
Citing data from the International Energy Agency, the report stated that oil refiners in the Middle East will process 8.8 million bpd of crude in 2023, one million bpd more than output in 2019.
This increase will roughly compensate for the amount that Europe will lose over the period.
Bloomberg noted Jazan Saudi Aramco will be able to produce more than 200,000 bpd of diesel when it reaches full capacity. It added the refinery will not be able to reach its full capacity until the first quarter of 2023.
The diesel market in Europe faced a crunch following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
As a result, gasoline and diesel prices surged dramatically in the US and western countries, as oil refiners struggled to make up for the loss of Russian crude and other petroleum products.