Oil Output by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) rose in February led by a further recovery in Nigerian supply
by as much as 100,000 additional barrels per day, a Reuters survey has found.
This is despite strong adherence by top producers to an
agreement by the wider OPEC+ alliance to cut production to support the market
during this period.
Nigerian output posted OPEC’s biggest increase of 100,000
bpd in February, the survey found, bringing the country closer to a target to
lift output to 1.6 million bpd this quarter.
The second-biggest increase came from number two OPEC
producer, Iraq, which according to Refinitiv Eikon data and other companies
that track the flows, has boosted southern exports this month.
The increase from the south outweighed a drop in northern
exports via the Turkish port of Ceyhan, which were briefly disrupted by the earthquake
that struck Turkey and Syria, Reuters stated.
Nigeria has been unable to meet its OPEC production quota
for over a year and has therefore failed to take advantage of high
International oil prices.
While the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC)
has said that current production is over 1.6 million bpd, in January, the
Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) put the figure at
over 1.25 million bpd.
Nigeria had recently begun to curb the massive oil thefts
through the collaboration of security forces, community groups and the
government agencies in the sector.
According to the survey, OPEC’s Gulf producers Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates maintained high compliance with their
targets under the OPEC+ agreement.
The oil cartel pumped 28.97 million barrels per day (bpd) in
the month under review, the survey found, up 150,000 bpd from January. However,
OPEC output is still down more than 700,000 bpd from September.
Many crude streams exported more in February, the survey
found, although Africa’s top producer is still pumping much less than its OPEC
target.
OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, had been boosting
output for most of 2022 as demand recovered from the pandemic. But for
November, with oil prices weakening, the group made its largest cut since the
early days of COVID-19 in 2020.
It decided to cut the OPEC+ output target by 2 million bpd,
of which about 1.27 million bpd was to come from the 10 participating OPEC
countries. The target remained in place for February.
With the rebound in Nigerian output in February, compliance
with the agreement increased to 169 per cent of pledged cuts, according to the
survey, against 172 per cent in January.
But output is significantly undershooting targeted amounts because
many producers – notably Nigeria and Angola – lack the capacity to pump at the
agreed levels.
The 10 OPEC members required to cut production pumped about
880,000 bpd below the group’s target, the survey found. The shortfall in
January was about 920,000 bpd.
Among countries with lower output, the largest drop of
80,000 bpd was in Angola due to a relatively small export programme in February
and field maintenance on the Dalia stream.
Libya, Iran and Venezuela are the three producers exempt
from OPEC cuts. Iran posted higher exports in February and Venezuelan output
has increased slightly, according to the survey. Libyan output was also steady.
The survey aims to
track supply to the market. It is based on shipping data provided by external
sources, Refinitiv Eikon flows data, information from companies that track
flows, such as Petro-Logistics and Kpler, and information provided by sources
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