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OPEC monthly oil production falls by 110,000 barrels per day

Decreases totalling 150,000 b/d from Iran, Nigeria, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iraq were partly offset by a 40,000 b/d increase in Angolan volumes. The biggest single production drop came from Iraq.

Crude oil production from the 12-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) averaged 29.11 million barrels per day (b/d) in August, down 110,000 b/d from an estimated 29.22 million b/d in July, according to new data.

According to the Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) last week reported the highest-ever level of total US petroleum inventories."And with refining margins in much of the world sliding, it's no surprise that OPEC may have found a little less appetite on the part of its customers for its product," said John Kingston, Platts global director of news.

The survey found that excluding Iraq, which does not participate in OPEC production agreements, the 11 members bound by quotas (OPEC-11) pumped an average 26.79 million b/d in August, down 30,000 b/d from an estimated 26.82 million b/d in July.

The August estimates show that the OPEC-11 exceeded its 24.845 million b/d target by 1.945 million b/d. This achieved a compliance rate of 53.7% with the 4.2 million b/d of output cuts agreed in late 2008 and which came into force in January 2009.