Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 7
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iran’s crude oil output reached 3.65 million barrels per day (mb/d) in the third quarter of 2016, compared to 3.57 mb/d in the second quarter of 2016, making Iran the third crude producer among the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Dec. 7.
The country’s oil output was 2.8 mb/d in 2015, the report said.
OPEC’s total output in the third quarter of 2016 amounted to 32.83 mb/d, indicating a decline of 420,000 bpd compared to the preceding quarter.
OPEC crude oil output averaged 31.75 mb/d in 2015, an increase of 0.8 mb/d from 2014, led by rising production in Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
The EIA forecasts that OPEC crude oil production will average at 32.53 mb/d in 2016 and 33.15 mb/d in 2017.
At their November meeting, OPEC members announced a framework for supply reductions among most of its members. Several non-OPEC producers also announced their intention to freeze or reduce production.
If the agreement contributes to prices rising above $50/b in the coming months, it could encourage a return to supply growth in US tight oil more quickly than currently expected, the EIA report said.
Continuing global supply growth in 2017 may postpone significant global inventory withdrawals until 2018, with the first half of 2017 showing inventory builds averaging 0.8 mb/d, according to the EIA forecast.
EIA estimates that global oil inventory builds will average 0.7 mb/d in 2016 and 0.4 mb/d in 2017.