Crude production from OPEC's eleven members rose by 40,000
barrels per day last month, to 29.95 million b/d in September from
29.91 million b/d in August, a Platts survey of OPEC and oil
industry officials showed October 10.
Excluding Iraq, however, production from the ten members with
quotas under a notional 28 million b/d ceiling fell by 100,000 b/d
to 27.81million b/d in September from 27.91 million b/d in August.
Only Saudi Arabia reduced output last month, production falling
to 9.1 million b/d in September from 9.28 million b/d in August, the
survey showed.
The biggest single increase -- 140,000 b/d -- came from Iraq,
whose September supply the survey estimated at 2.14 million b/d,
compared with 2 million b/d in August. Other smaller increases came
from Venezuela, Algeria and Libya.
Nigerian production was largely flat around 2.3 million b/d.
Volumes from Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE were also
unchanged at August levels.
John Kingston, Global Director of Oil at Platts, said, "These are
the stark realities OPEC is facing: It already is producing more
than the world needs to keep already high inventories from growing
further. The International Energy Agency last month estimated that
the world only needed 29.5 million b/d of OPEC crude in the fourth
quarter of 2006, and they are looking at even lower demand for OPEC
crude in the first quarter of next year. These are the numbers
driving OPEC's current efforts to cut production. OPEC is currently
talking about a 1 million b/d cut. Whether an actual cut amounts to
anything like that volume remains to be seen."
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