A Reuter’s survey last Monday indicates that OPEC produced 310,000bpd more in July to fill in the gaps from reduced production in Nigeria and the force majeure in Libya.
The force majeure in Libya has since been lifted by the interim government. The survey noted that about 240,000 bpd of that 310,000 bpd increase came from the 10 members of OPEC, with Saudi Arabia accounting for 150,000 bpd of that total, which still falls short of the Kingdom’s production targets.
The UAE, Kuwait and Iraq also increased output, based on the Reuters survey. The report noted that OPEC produced 28.98mbpd in July in total, which represents an increase of 310,000 bpd it produced in July compared to the revised output figures for June.
Reuters pointed out that OPEC members met 60% of the production increase deal made through OPEC+, which includes Russia.
It noted that the 310,000-bpd increase still falls short of the 412,000-bpd increase pledged by OPEC+. The cartel is presently in the process of phasing out output cuts implemented due to the COVID pandemic in 2020; however, many members are struggling to meet the quota requirements set forth in the deal.
The survey is coming even as OPEC members walk into a scheduled meeting today, which observers say may not deliver an announcement of a new production hike, despite ongoing efforts in Washington to lobby for an output increase to bring oil prices down.
The survey also comes as Libya has lifted force majeure on its oil production and exports, with the Oil Ministry and the National Oil Company (NOC) now saying that production has reached 1.2 million bpd–the level it was at prior to the declaration of force majeure in April.
The Saudis were also filling in production gaps coming from Nigeria, which saw a 70,000-bpd decline in production due to outages and scheduled maintenance.
The survey also comes shortly after U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia, which failed to secure any deal to increase OPEC production in a bid to tame surging crude prices.
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