16 November 2016, Sweetcrude, Lagos – The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, and the non-OPEC oil producers will meet in Vienna on November 28, ahead of the organisation’s 171st conference scheduled for the Austrian capital on November 30.
OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo stated this as also reveal that OPEC experts would be meeting on November 25 to review and arrive at a decision on how the organisation’s recently agreed output cut would be shared among members.
This came as OPEC reported an increase in its oil production in October to a record high led by members hoping to be exempt from the producer group’s attempt to curb supply, weighing on prices and pointing to a larger global surplus next year.
It pumped 33.64 million barrels per day, b/d, last month, according to figures OPEC collects from secondary sources, up 240,000 b/d from September, OPEC said in a monthly report.
The OPEC figures point to a bigger surplus than those of the International Energy Agency and underline OPEC’s challenge in restraining supplies.
According to OPEC’s report, October’s supply boost mostly came from Libya, Nigeria and Iraq – members that have sought to be exempt from cuts due to conflict. Iran, seeking an exemption as output was held back by Western sanctions, also pumped more.
Industry observers say the latest production figures could complicate OPEC talks at the November 30 meeting on how to allocate new quotas to members.
To speed up a rebalancing of the market, OPEC agreed at a meeting in Algeria on September 28 to cut supply to between 32.50 million b/d and 33.0 million b/d. The group hopes to finalise further details at the November 30 meeting.