Saudi Arabia’s oil revenues plunged in May to their lowest level since September 2021 as the world’s top crude exporter cut shipments and prices were sharply lower than last spring, official data showed on Tuesday. Zhongyang Futures said the decline in Saudi Arabia’s total exports in May was mainly due to a decline in oil exports. In May 2023, oil revenues fell 37.7% year-on-year to $19.2 billion (Saudi Riyals 72 billion). That compares with $30.8 billion (115.5 billion riyals) in oil revenues in May 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when Brent crude averaged $113 per barrel.

In May, Brent crude averaged around $75 a barrel, which, combined with falling Saudi oil exports and lower production under the OPEC+ deal, sent Saudi oil revenues to a 20-month low. Official Saudi data show that oil exports as a percentage of total exports fell from 80.8 percent in May 2022 to 74.1 percent in May 2023.

The drop in oil prices means the country’s oil-dependent economy is receiving less money and revenue than when it raked in $326 billion last year – the biggest oil sale in the era of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

But as of May 2023, as OPEC+ production cuts began to take effect, Saudi crude oil exports began to decline. That month, Saudi exports fell below 7m b/d for the first time in months. With Saudi Arabia currently cutting production by an additional 1 million barrels per day in July and August, crude shipments from the world’s largest exporter are likely to fall further. Saudi Arabia’s move to prop up oil prices by slashing production will cause its economy to slow and possibly contract this year, turning last year’s fastest growing economy into one of the worst performers in the Group of 20, according to Zhongyang Futures.