BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 18. OPEC+ witnessed an increase in crude oil production across all 23 member nations in August, bouncing back from nearly two years of low output to reach 42.75 mb/d, marking a month-on-month increase of 130,000 b/d.
According to the data obtained by Trend from the International Energy Agency (IEA), this boost was primarily attributed to higher production levels from countries like Iran, Nigeria, Iraq, and Bahrain, which more than compensated for the reduced output from Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan.
For the second consecutive month, Russia maintained its supply at approximately 9.5 mb/d, surpassing Saudi Arabia as the leading crude oil producer within the coalition. With Riyadh's decision to extend its additional production cut through December, it appears that Russia is poised to maintain its top position throughout the remainder of 2023, the agency noted.
In August, the oil supply from the 13 OPEC countries increased by 90,000 b/d, reaching 27.96 mb/d. Simultaneously, output from non-OPEC members within the OPEC+ alliance saw a modest uptick of 40,000 b/d, totaling 14.79 mb/d. When considering all 19 members subject to production quotas, the overall output experienced a slight decrease of 20,000 b/d, settling at 35.99 mb/d. According to the IEA, this resulted in the bloc's effective spare capacity, excluding Russia and considering oil volumes affected by Iranian sanctions, standing at 5.6 mb/d, with Saudi Arabia holding roughly 60 percent of this surplus.
Meanwhile, on September 5, Saudi Arabia committed to limiting its crude production to approximately 9 mb/d until the end of the year by maintaining a voluntary reduction of 1 mb/d in addition to the coordinated cuts within OPEC+. Russia, on the other hand, pledged to maintain its 300,000 b/d export reduction throughout 2023.
The IEA noted that these adjustments by Saudi Arabia and Russia come on top of the 3.7 mb/d reduction already agreed upon within 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 starting in May.
The 23-member producer group is scheduled to hold an interim monitoring session on October 4th and convene for a full ministerial meeting on November 26th, with the possibility of further adjustments and amendments to their production agreements, the IEA reminded.