Saudis Stuck Home for Summer Burn More Oil for Air Conditioners.
Author: https://www.bloomberg.com/ Date Posted:23 July 2020
As the Middle East enters the hottest days of summer, Saudi Arabia is set to burn potentially record amounts of crude oil to run its power plants and keep its citizens comfortably air-conditioned.
Electricity consumption always soars around July and August, when temperatures in the kingdom can rise above 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius). That compels the government to use crude or fuel oil in addition to the much cleaner natural gas that normally fires the plants. This year the urge to drain oil is even stronger because of higher demand, with the coronavirus pandemic forcing many Saudis to cancel their summer holidays abroad.
Another difference is that record cuts to Saudi Arabia’s oil production since April -- part of a push by OPEC members to prop up prices in the face of the virus -- have reduced its supplies of gas, most of which come from the same wells as crude.
