Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) oil production rose 0.4 per cent in July 2014 from a month earlier, according to a survey
Supply from OPEC has averaged 30.06mn bpd last month, up from 29.92mn bpd in June, according to the Reuters survey based on shipping data and information from sources at oil companies, OPEC and consultants.
This puts OPEC’s output close to the nominal target of 30mn bpd. Outages in the group, such as in Iraq and Libya, are effectively helping OPEC to balance the market, rather than voluntary cutbacks, analysts cited.
Eugen Weinberg, commodities analyst at Commerzbank in Germany, “OPEC seems to be in control of its production at the moment, probably due to the external events.”
The 12-member OPEC pumps a third of the world’s oil. In July, the largest increase has come from Libya, where supply rose to 430,000 bpd, the survey found.
Top exporter Saudi Arabia raised supply modestly partly because of a greater need for crude in domestic power plants, industry sources said.
Nigerian output also edged higher in July this year, according to export schedules and crude buyers.
Of the countries with falling output, Iraq’s supply declined by 70,000 bpd, as domestic crude use fell because of the closure of the Baiji Refinery, which was attacked by militants in June. Supply of Iraqi crude to world markets, however, increased as exports from Iraq’s southern terminals rose to more than 2.5mn bpd from 2.42mn bpd in June this year.
