Oil production from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose in July, despite supply shortfalls from Libya, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Rising output from Nigeria, Kuwait and the UAE offset the drops.
OPEC production averaged 32.32 million barrels per day (bpd) in July, 40,700 higher than June, according to the group’s monthly oil market report, based on secondary source figures.
Production from Nigeria, Kuwait and the UAE offset the drops elsewhere. Kuwait ramped up its output by 78,500 to 2.8 million bpd last month, Nigeria by 70,500 to 1.67 million bpd, and the UAE by 69,200 to 2.96 million bpd.
Meanwhile, production fell by 57,000 to 600,000 bpd in Libya, by 53,000 to 10.39 million bpd in Saudi Arabia, with output from Venezuela dropping by 48,000 to 1.28 million bpd, according to OPEC.
As for Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest oil producer submitted to the group its own data which showed that output slipped by 200,000 to 10.28 million bpd in July.
In addition, OPEC reduced its projection for global oil demand growth for this year by 20,000 to 1.64 million bpd, while lowering the forecast for the next year by 20,000 to 1.43 million bpd. This was attributed to a weaker-than-expected demand in Latin America and the Middle East during the second quarter of the year.
However, OPEC ran out the prospect that trade spat between the US and China to have much impact on the world’s oil demand, unless the rifts reach beyond the world’s largest two economies.
The group also raised its forecasts for supply from rival producers for the rest of the year, predicting that non-OPEC output would total 59.62 million bpd in 2018, 2.08 million bpd increase from the prior year.
Moreover, demand for OPEC crude is set to reach 32.9 million bpd this year, dropping by 600,000 bpd from the previous year.