BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 15. In August, crude oil production within the OPEC+ alliance, comprising all 23 member countries, rebounded from a nearly two-year low, reaching 42.75 mb/d.
According to the data obtained by Trend from the International Energy Agency (IEA), this represented a month-on-month increase of 130,000 b/d. This uptick was primarily driven by higher output levels from Iran, Nigeria, Iraq, and Bahrain, which more than compensated for the reduced production from Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan.
The agency's data shows that, for a second consecutive month, Russia maintained a steady supply at approximately 9.5 mb/d. As a result, Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia as the bloc's leading crude oil producer. With Riyadh's decision to extend its additional production cut until December, it appears that Russia is positioned to maintain this top spot throughout the remainder of 2023.
At the same time, the oil supply from 13 OPEC countries over the previous month increased by 90,000 b/d, reaching a total of 27.96 mb/d. Concurrently, output from non-OPEC members within the OPEC+ coalition inched up by 40,000 b/d - to 14.79 mb/d. When considering all 19 members subject to production quotas, the overall production experienced a modest decrease of 20,000 b/d, resulting in a total of 35.99 mb/d.
This left the effective spare production capacity within the bloc, excluding Russia and the volumes of crude oil constrained by sanctions against Iran, at 5.6 mb/d, with Saudi Arabia holding roughly 60 percent of this surplus capacity.
Meanwhile, on September 5th, Saudi Arabia pledged to limit its crude oil production to around 9 mb/d until the end of the year by maintaining a voluntary reduction of 1 mb/d on top of the coordinated cuts agreed upon within OPEC+. In a similar vein, Russia declared its commitment to sustaining a 300,000 b/d reduction in exports through the end of 2023.
The IEA noted that these adjustments by Saudi Arabia and Russia, subject to monthly reviews and potential modifications, are in addition to the 3.7 mb/d reduction already agreed upon by OPEC+. This reduction includes a 2 mb/d cut to the production ceiling implemented in November 2022 and an additional 1.7 mb/d of curbs from select members beginning in May.
The 23-member producer group has scheduled an interim monitoring session for October 4th and a full ministerial meeting on November 26th.