Monday, November 12, 2007

OPEC's oil exports seen at record $658 billion

by Tom Doggett from Reuters

OPEC member nations are expected to rake in a record $658 billion this year from their oil exports and then see their business grow by $104 billion next year, the U.S. government's top energy forecasting agency said on Friday. High prices will lift OPEC's net oil export revenues by $53 billion, or 9%, for 2007, compared with last year, based on new estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The oil producer group is set to ship a record $762 billion in oil during 2008, 16% more than this year, according to EIA projections provided to Reuters. Of OPEC's 12 members, Saudi Arabia represents almost a third of the group's total oil export revenue, bringing in $190 billion this year. Saudi's No. 1 ranking is not surprising, given that the kingdom is the world's biggest oil producer, has the most surplus output capacity and holds the largest crude reserves. For 2008, the EIA expects Saudi Arabia to raise $213 billion from oil exports, up 12%.

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