OpeOluwani Akintayo
Lagos — The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC’s output slide by 170 000bpd last month, the lowest OPEC total since 2014.
Statistics from a Reuter’s survey showed that the group’s production sank to a five-year low despite a rise in Saudi supply.
Although Saudi Arabia is raising output following pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to bring down prices, however, the country is still voluntarily pumping less than the OPEC-led cut deal allows it to.
Saudi Arabia increased supply by 100,000 bpd to 9.8 million bpd from May’s revised figure, the survey found. This is still below its OPEC quota of 10.311 bpd.OPEC and its partners renewed the Declaration of Cooperation, DoC at meetings this week, to cut production by December level- 1.2 million bpd from Jan. 1 this year- – all except Iran, Libya and Venezuela were exempted, while non-OPEC cuts 400, 000bpd. The cut deal has been extended until March 2020.
There were offset in supply especially from Iran and Venezuela due to U.S. sanctions.
Iran’s crude exports have declined to less than 400,000 bpd from more than 2.5 million bpd in April 2018.
In Venezuela, supply fell slightly in June due to the impact of U.S. sanctions on state oil company PDVSA and a long-term decline in production, according to the survey.
Despite lower supplies, oil prices have fallen from a six-month high above $75 a barrel in April to below $63 on Friday.
In June, OPEC achieved 156% cuts, the survey found, more than in May, due to lower production in Iraq, Kuwait, and Angola. All three of the exempt producers also pumped less oil.
Output also rose in Nigeria from 1,732 million bpd in March, 1,713mbpd in April to 1,754mbpd in May- the country’s promised output in the cut deal is 1, 700m bpd.