OAPEC crude oil exports down US$24 billion

Crude oil exports of the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries amounted to US$50.04 billion in the first quarter of 2016, down $24.5 billion over the same period of 2015. According the national news agency WAM, the OAPEC member states are locked in several economic challenges due to dwindling oil prices that have led to a drop in oil earnings. The fall in international oil prices have resulted in the cancellation or postponement of capital projects in some member states, which rely heavily on oil revenue as a main source of income and revenue. The OAPEC bulletin added that the negative impacts of uncontrollably falling oil prices have reached non-oil sectors and, consequently, consumer spending and investment levels.