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OPEC crude output decreases slightly

Oil&Gas Materials 12 November 2015 16:37 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 12

By Umid Niayesh- Trend:

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members' total crude oil output has dropped by some 256,500 barrels per day in October compared to September, the organization said in its latest monthly report released on Nov. 12.

According to secondary sources, total OPEC crude oil production stood at 31.382 million barrels per day (mb/d) in October.

Crude oil output decreased mostly in Iraq, falling by 195.4 thousand barrels per day (tb/d); Saudi Arabia, by 72.2 tb/d; and Kuwait, by 44.5 tb/d, while production in Libya showed the largest increase of 52.8 tb/d.

Iran increased crude oil production (excluding condensates) by 4,700 barrels per day in October, compared with the previous month. The country's oil output reached 2.874 mb/d per day.

The Islamic republic ranked fourth among the OPEC countries, after Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates, based on secondary sources.

Iran stood at third place in an OPEC report on oil production in 2012, after Saudi Arabia and Iraq. However, in 2013, it fell to the fifth spot.

The Islamic republic's oil production accounted for 3.28 mb/d in October, according to an OPEC report based on direct communications, indicating a 406,000 barrel difference between OPEC's estimates and Iran's data.

The OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) remained almost unchanged in October, according to the monthly report.

Its value edged up slightly by 19 cents to stand at US$45.02 per barrel, an increase of less than 0.5 percent. Prices have been bottoming at this level since the end of July, amid a lack of any significant fundamental or non-fundamental change to move them markedly.

Compared with a year ago, the ORB value is lagging at $51.99 per barrel versus $101.79 per barrel at the time.

OPEC's oil basket is currently made up of the Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (the Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (the United Arab Emirates), and Merey (Venezuela).

Iran Heavy's crude oil price also dropped by 7 cents month-to-month to reach $44.55 per barrel in October.

World oil demand growth for 2015 stands at 1.5 mb/d, leading to total global consumption of 92.86 mb/d. In 2016, world oil demand is forecast to increase by 1.25 mb/d and hit 94.14 mb/d.

The estimated demand for OPEC crude stood at 29.6 mb/d in 2015, which is 0.6 mb/d higher than the previous year's level. In 2016, required OPEC crude is projected at 30.8 mb/d, representing an increase of 1.2 mb/d from the estimated 2015 level.

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