The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is scheduled to release its Monthly Oil Market report on Tuesday, July 12. Analysts at Platts provided a preview on Monday, reporting OPEC production reached 32.73 million barrels a day in June, a level last achieved in August 2008. OPEC production in June is up 300,000 barrels a day month over month.
According to Platts, production increases in Saudi Arabia and Iran combined with production recovery in Nigeria and Libya account for the surge. The not-so-good news comes from Venezuela, where output sank to a 13-year low.
Saudi production totaled 10.33 million barrels a day in June, still 120,000 barrels a day short of the country’s peak production level last year.
Nigerian production rose by 150,000 barrels a day to 1.57 million barrels in June after hitting 30-year lows in May as a result of militant attacks on the country’s oil-producing infrastructure in the Niger Delta area.
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Production in Libya rose by 60,000 barrels a day to total 310,000. Libyan production remains less than a quarter of its 1.6 million barrel a day potential.
Iranian output has jumped by 740,000 barrels a day, compared with December 2015 output, and now yields 3.63 million barrels a day, the country’s highest production since 2011.
Venezuelan production dipped by 120,000 barrels a day to 2.15 million barrels, the lowest since 2003. The decline has been blamed on high production costs, lack of investment, high debt levels among service providers, less drilling and infrastructure deterioration. Output is further hampered by the country’s electricity rationing program.
Production also declined in Iraq, down 20,000 barrels a day to daily output of 4.23 million barrels.
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