Baku, Azerbaijan, May 13
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran's crude oil output has fallen by 16,400 barrels per day in April compared to the previous month and reached 2.769 million barrels per day.
The country stood out among the OPEC countries after Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait based on secondary sources, according to the latest monthly report of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which was released on May 13.
Iran's oil production has decreased by 204,000 bpd since 2012, meanwhile, compared to the 2013 figure the country's oil output indicates an increase by 76,000 bpd.
The country ranked third, in an OPEC report on oil production in 2012 after Saudi Arabia and Iraq, however its rank fell to fifth in 2013.
The report says that OPEC members' total crude oil output increased by about 130,800 bpd in April compared to March, reaching 29.593 mbpd.
The biggest rise in the crude production level belongs to Iraq with a 102,100 bpd increase in a month.
OPEC's major oil producer, Saudi Arabia has increased its oil production after last month's decrease. The country's crude oil output stood at 9.579 mbpd in April which indicates an increase by 22,500 bpd compared to March.
The OPEC Reference Basket improved slightly to an average of $104.27/b in April, up 12 cents, or 0.12 percent over the previous month amid marginal improvement in the value of most components. The uplift in the physical market was supported by firmer refining margins, ongoing supply outages and the return of some refineries after maintenance.
On a year-to-date basis, the ORB was also lower compared with the same period a year ago. The Basket value stood at $104.62/b compared to the $107.28/b average of last year, $2.66 or 2.48 percent lower.
Iran's Heavy crude oil price stood at $104.32/b in April, and indicates an increase of 31 cents compared to the preceding month.
World oil demand for 2014 is expected to experience growth by some 1.14 mbpd and to reach 91.2 mbpd.
World oil demand stood at 90.01 mbpd in 2013, indicating a growth of 1.05 mbpd compared to the previous year.
The OPEC report says that the demand for OPEC crude in 2013 is forecast to average 30.1 mbpd, representing a decrease of 0.4 mbpd from 2012. For 2014, required OPEC crude is forecast at 29.8 mbpd, 0.4 mbpd less than a year earlier.
Edited by C.N.