Saudi Arabia’s recent push to maintain international oil market share saw its oil exports surging in March, but the kingdom may find itself unable to maintain much upward momentum in the coming months. The latest official data from the Riyadh-headquartered Joint Organizations Data Initiative or JODI, published Monday, May 18 showed that Saudi crude exports rose by 548,000 b/d in March to 7.898 million — their highest level in over a decade. However, March is the last month of the Arabian Peninsula’s cooler season, with maximum daytime temperatures in Riyadh still averaging below 30 degrees Celsius. Temperatures start to rise rapidly thereafter, with the daytime maximum typically averaging 45 degrees Celsius by July, the hottest month of the year. As the mercury rises and demand for air conditioning soars, so does Saudi Arabia’s domestic oil consumption, as the kingdom burns significant volumes of fuel oil and crude for power […]