While the combined oil output from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies rose in June, Nigeria posted the heaviest drop in crude oil production as the country faced significant operational issues.
According to the latest S&P Global Platts survey, the group, known as OPEC+, added 540,000 barrels per day of crude in June to a market hungry for oil as summer kicked off, according to the latest S&P Global Platts survey.
Nigeria produced 1.48 million bpd in June, its lowest level since January, compared to 1.55 million bpd in May, the survey found.
Some of the country’s large oil fields, especially those in the Niger Delta like Bonny, Escravos, Brass River and Qua Iboe, were said to be pumping well below their full capacity due to either technical problems or maintenance.
OPEC’s 13 members pumped 26.19 million bpd in June, up 480,000 bpd from May, mostly due to Saudi Arabia’s continued unwinding of its voluntary extra production cut.
The group’s nine non-OPEC partners, led by Russia, produced 13.27 million bpd, a rise of 60,000 bpd from May.
Despite the production gains, higher quotas for the month meant OPEC+ compliance was at 110.16 per cent compared to 111.45 per cent in May, the survey found.
The coalition has now added 970,000 bpd in the past two months, as part of its plans to relax its output quotas to meet the growing demand for its oil.
But a bitter feud between emerging rivals Saudi Arabia and the UAE could put an end to that, with a deal to raise output by two million bpd between August and December in jeopardy, according to S&P Global Platts.
The report said the dispute, which a week of negotiations had so far failed to resolve, could cause the OPEC+ alliance to leave quotas flat after July, potentially squeezing an already tightening market through the rest of the summer.
Saudi Arabia accounted for a massive chunk of the June increase, boosting output by 470,000 bpd, as it stepped up the unwinding of its extra 1 million bpd production cut.
According to the survey, the kingdom produced 8.97 million bpd in June, 377,000 bpd below its official quota of 9.35 million bpd.
The OPEC+ group’s largest producer Russia tightened its compliance to 97 per cent in June, its highest monthly compliance rate since February, the survey found.
Russian crude output averaged 9.51 million bpd in June, unchanged from the previous month.
Iraq’s compliance to its OPEC+ quotas, which have come under question in recent years, improved sharply, rising to 102 per cent. June crude production fell to 3.94 million bpd on the back of lower exports and declining oil stocks.
The group’s exempt members — Iran, Libya and Venezuela — added a combined 70,000 bpd in June.
Iran pumped 2.48 million bpd last month, an increase of 50,000 bpd from May and its highest production since April 2019.
Meanwhile, Libya and Venezuela added 10,000 bpd each in June, producing 1.16 million bpd and 550,000 bpd, respectively, the survey found.
