OpeOluwani Akintayo
Lagos — Crude oil production from the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC and its allies also known as OPEC+, rose by 450,000 bpd in March.
The latest S&P Global Platts survey found that Russia and Iraq produced above their agreed cut quotas, while quota-exempt members Iran and Libya also boosted output. In Libya’s case, its production hit an almost eight-year high.
Iraqi compliance fell to 88 percent in March. It produced 3.95 million bpd, an increase of 60,000 bpd from the previous month.
Despite the country’s fall in exports, its crude inventories grew, survey panelists said. The March figure is almost 90,000 bpd above its OPEC+ production quota of 3.857 million bpd.
Nigeria which had recently improved its compliance with its cuts, also boosted exports in March.
The country with the largest economy in Africa produced 1.57 million barrels per day last month, a 30,000 bpd rise from February, and 70,000 bpd above its quota.
Angola’s production recovered to 1.16 million bpd in March after its production had slumped to a 16-year low in February. It pumped 25.20 million bpd in March, up 340,000 bpd from February.
On the other hand, non-OPEC partners, led by Russia, produced 13.08 million bpd, a rise of 110,000 bpd, the survey found.
OPEC+ compliance with its quotas has now slipped to 111 percent in March, compared with 113.5 percent in February due to the increased production.