London (Platts)--16Jan2009
OPEC's crude production fell to 30.9 million b/d in December, down
320,000 b/d from 31.22 million b/d in November, the International Energy
Agency said Friday.
Excluding Iraq and Indonesia, the 11 OPEC members bound by the group's
crude production accords pumped an average of 27.67 million b/d last month,
compared with their combined target for the month of 27.308 million b/d.
By far the biggest single fall in output came from the group's biggest
producer, Saudi Arabia, which cut supply to 8.45 million b/d from 8.9 million
b/d in November, the IEA said.
At a meeting in December, the OPEC-11 agreed a new collective target of
24.8 million b/d to come into effect from the start of this year.
"Evidence from December suggests that key members of OPEC are beginning
to curb supply by significant amounts," the IEA said in its latest monthly
report.
The IEA said that its December estimate was within 2% of OPEC's target
level for the month, and within 11% of the new, lower target which came into
effect on January 1.
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