Launceston, Australia — Saudi Arabia wants to do more to boost crude oil prices by taking a razor to its exports, but the kingdom is already doing much of the heavy lifting in Asia, where it is surrendering market share in the world’s top importing region. Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih said, after a meeting of the oil cartel Opec and its allies on Monday, that his country would limit crude oil exports to 6.6-million barrels per day (bpd) in August, almost 1-million bpd below levels a year ago. This commitment is belated recognition that Opec and its non-Opec allies, including Russia, have to do more than just comply with their November agreement to cut output by a combined 1.8-million bpd. For the output restrictions to work by draining global oil inventories, the producers will also have to curb exports. Vessel-tracking data from Thomson Reuters and other service providers suggest that cuts to exports in the first half of 2017 by Opec and its non-Opec allies haven’t matched...
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