The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)'s eleven members pumped an overall 26.36 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, down 1.42 million bpd, revealed a recent Platts survey.
The output drop was due mainly to Iraqi production being halted by war for most of the month. The survey estimated Iraqi production, which resumed towards the end of May, at an average 50,000 bpd. Excluding Iraq, output from the ten members with quotas fell to 26.31 million bpd in April from 26.34 million bpd in March.
Among the OPEC ten, output cutbacks totaling 440,000 bpd were almost completely offset by 410,000 bpd in increases. Saudi Arabia accounted for the biggest single cut, 260,000 bpd, reining in production from 9.46 million bpd in March to 9.2-million bpd in April.
Other smaller cuts came from Indonesia with 10,000 bpd, Iran with 80,000 bpd, Nigeria with 80,000 bpd) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with 80,000 bpd. Venezuela accounted for the biggest single increase with 390,000 bpd, with smaller increases from Algeria and Libya with 10,000 bpd each.
The survey showed that the OPEC ten exceeded their current 24.5-million bpd production ceiling by 1.81 million bpd. "For all intents and purposes the current ceiling became redundant when OPEC announced at its April 24 meeting its new higher ceiling of 25.4 million bpd," said global director of oil at Platts, John Kingston. "The new ceiling, even though it doesn't come into effect until June, has become the new target for OPEC."
To meet the new ceiling, the OPEC ten will have to shave output by 910,000 bpd. Saudi Arabia alone will have to slash its production by nearly one million bpd to meet its June 1 quota of 8.256 million bpd. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
