OPEC-10 output climbs 60,000 b/d to 28 mil b/d in April: survey

London (Platts)--9May2006

Higher volumes from Iraq and Nigeria pushed total OPEC crude production
in April back above 30 million b/d for the first time since November, a Platts
survey of OPEC and oil industry officials showed Tuesday.
The survey showed total OPEC output climbing from 29.76 million b/d in
March to 30.01 million b/d in April, an increase of 250,000 b/d.
Excluding Iraq, which does not participate in OPEC output agreements, the
ten members with quotas boosted their average output by 60,000 b/d, from 27.94
million b/d in March to 28 million b/d--their official ceiling level--in
April.
The biggest single increase came from Iraq, which saw volumes rise from
1.82 million b/d to 2.01 million b/d in April, thanks to a big boost in
exports from the south which had been constrained by a combination of weather
problems, power outages and sabotage. Exports from the north, via Turkish
Mediterranean port Ceyhan, remain on hold.
The survey showed Nigerian production rising to 2.2 million b/d from 2.15
million b/d in March as new production from ExxonMobil's offshore Erha field
helped to offset production lost as a result of militant attacks on oil
facilities in the Niger Delta.
Other smaller increases came from Indonesia and the UAE--10,000 b/d
each--and Iran, whose production rose from 3.86 million b/d in March to 3.88
million b/d in April.
Saudi production slipped 20,000 b/d to average 9.48 million b/d.
Venezuelan production edged down further to 2.58 million b/d from 2.59
million b/d in March.

For more OPEC news, visit Platts OPEC Guide at
http://www.platts.com/Oil/Resources/News%20Features/opec/index.xml


 

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