New Delhi, Aug. 12 -- RIYADH - Saudi Arabia's onshore oil reserves reached record highs by early August, not because the kingdom pumped less, but because it could not move what it pumped out of the country fast enough to match the pace of production.

The International Energy Agency said on Wednesday that Saudi production rose by 900,000 barrels per day in July to 8.2 million barrels per day, a significant increase that would ordinarily move swiftly through export terminals and onto tankers headed for Europe and Asia. Instead, a substantial portion of those additional volumes shifted into onshore storage facilities, accumulating at unprecedented levels as transit disruptions sealed off the routes that normally handle Saudi crude.

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