OPEC increases its oil supply in August despite the cuts in force

The crude oil production of the 13 members of the OPEC rose in August to total 27.4 million barrels per day (mbd), 113,000 barrels per day (bd) more than the combined output of July, despite the sharp cuts in the group’s supplies that are in force until the end of the year, after be agreed upon with 10 other allied countries, including Russia.

These figures, calculated based on “secondary sources”, that is, estimates by independent institutes, were published in the Monthly Report of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and reveal that the increase in supply is mainly due to the increase in extractions from Iran, as well as other minor ones from Nigeria, Iraq, Libya and the United Arab Emirates.

Iran, which like Libya and Venezuela is exempt from the commitment to limit its supplies due to the involuntary limitations it has suffered in its industry as a result of the sanctions imposed on its oil exports, produced 3 mbd last month, 143,000 bd more than in July.

In the case of Nigeria, the increase is 98,000 bd and left the country’s output at 1.27 mbd last month. It is followed by Iraq, which extracted 4.27 mbd (+48,000 bd), Libya (1.15 mbd, +25,000 bd) and the United Arab Emirates (2.9 mbd, +17,000 bd).

The increases exceeded the monthly declines in Saudi Arabia, whose production stood at 8.9 mbd, 88,000 bd less than in July, Angola (1.1 mbd, -60,000 bd), Venezuela (730,000 bd, -42,000 bd), Algeria ( 933,000 bd, -26,000 bd) and Congo (67,000 bd, -15,000 bd).

The estimated drop for Venezuela contrasts with the official data from Caracas, which is also published in the report, of an increase in pumping of 10,000 bd in August, to 820,000 bd.

Be that as it may, the total increases are far from compensating for the strong current supply cuts, which were agreed in October 2022 and April 2023 within OPEC+ (OPEC and allies) to support “oil prices”, and which together add up to 3.6 mbd, close to 3.6 of the world supply of “black gold”.

To them are added another 1.3 mbd that Riyadh (-1mbd) and Moscow (-300,000 bd) withdrew from the market last July, when they announced those “voluntary” reductions, which they then extended month by month, until the last one was secured. week that they will maintain them until the end of the year.

Driven by these measures, the price of Brent crude oil and that of the OPEC reference barrel have once again exceeded US$90 for the first time since November 2022, while Texas Intermediate Oil (WTI), a benchmark in the United States, fell It sells for around US$87.