RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s industrial production index rose 15.6 percent in September from the previous month, led by a recovery in mining and quarrying activity, although output remained 10.9 percent lower than a year earlier, official data showed.  The Industrial Production Index stood at 101.3 in September, compared with 87.7 in August, preliminary figures released by the General Authority for Statistics showed. Mining and quarrying activity increased 29.9 percent month on month, while manufacturing output expanded 2.8 percent.  The monthly recovery came amid disruptions to regional energy markets following the US-Israeli war with Iran in February. Saudi Arabia has worked to maintain oil exports by using alternative routes, including the East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.  “On a monthly basis, manufacturing growth is driven by the increase in the activity of the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products, which increased by 7 percent, and the manufacture of chemicals and chemical products, which increased by 0.8 percent,” said GASTAT.  Compared with August, the electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply sub-index fell 1.2 percent, while the water supply, sewerage, and waste management sub-index declined 0.4 percent.  Commenting on the IPI figures, Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial, said that rising mining and quarrying activity played a crucial role in boosting the Kingdom’s IPI growth in September.  “Crude oil and gas extraction dominates the index. Output picked up as Saudi Arabia expanded ship-to-ship transfers beyond the Strait of Hormuz and routed more crude through its Red Sea port of Yanbu,” said Valecha.  He said manufacturing was also supporting Vision 2030’s efforts to diversify the economy beyond oil. Growth has been driven partly by the localization of production in areas such as pipes, cables, energy equipment and building materials, reducing the need for imports.  Valecha added that ready-built factory space was making it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to enter the market, while industrial clusters such as the King Salman Energy Park, King Abdullah Economic City and those developed by Modon were providing investors with established infrastructure.  “The expansion is evident,” he said, pointing to industrial hubs that combine manufacturing, storage and distribution. These include the National Housing Co. Industrial City and Logistics Zone and KAEC’s King Salman Automotive Cluster, which he said were helping strengthen domestic supply chains.  Annual comparison  According to GASTAT, the IPI's annual drop in September was prompted by a 16 percent fall in the sub-index for mining and quarrying activity and a 5.4 percent drop in manufacturing. The decline in the latter was driven by a 13.6 percent decrease in the production of coke and refined petroleum products and a 3.8 percent decline in the manufacture of chemicals and chemical products.  The sub-index for electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply activity rose 6.4 percent year on year, while the sub-index for water supply, sewerage, and waste management and remediation activities increased by 7.3 percent.  Oil and non-oil activity  The divergence between oil and non-oil industrial activity was also evident in the monthly figures.  The index of oil activities decreased by 15.5 percent in September compared with the same month a year earlier, while the index of non-oil activities increased by 0.1 percent.  On a monthly basis, the index of oil activities rose 24.7 percent, while the index of non-oil activities increased by 0.6 percent.