OPEC July oil output hits 2018 peak

London : OPEC oil output has risen this month to a 2018 high as Gulf members pumped more after a deal to ease supply curbs and Congo Republic joined the group, a Reuters survey found, although losses from Iran and Libya limited the increase. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has pumped 32.64 million barrels per day in July, the survey on Monday found, up 70,000 bpd from June’s revised level and the highest this year with Congo added.

On June 22-23, OPEC, Russia and other non-members agreed to return to 100pct compliance with oil output cuts that began in January 2017, after months of underproduction in Venezuela and elsewhere pushed adherence above 160 per cent. Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates raised output by 80,000 bpd and 40,000 bpd respectively in July, the survey found.

The bulk of the Saudi supply boost appears to have been delivered in June as Riyadh tapped storage tanks to push supply to 10.60 million bpd, near a record high. Riyadh has boosted supply in July by a further 50,000 bpd from June’s revised level, the survey found. Supply in Nigeria, often curbed by unplanned outages, rose by 50,000 bpd. Iraq also increased supply as exports rose from the country’s southern terminals.

Among countries with lower output, the biggest drop of 100,000 bpd was in Iran. Output in Libya, which remains volatile due to unrest, edged down. Production also slipped in Venezuela and in Angola. The addition of Congo Republic to OPEC in June has added about 320,000 bpd. Before Congo joined, OPEC had an implied production target for 2018 of 32.78 million bpd. OPEC excluding Congo pumped about 460,000 bpd below this implied target in July.