Baku, Azerbaijan, July 13
By Emil Ilgar – Trend:
Iran’s crude oil output reached 3.58 million barrels per day (mb/d) in the second half of 2016 (2Q16), about 0.55 mb/d more than in 1Q16, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported July 13.
The country’s oil output was 2.8 mb/d in 4Q15, the report said.
OPEC crude oil output averaged 31.8 mb/d in 2015, an increase of 0.8 mb/d from 2014, led by rising production in Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
“Forecast OPEC crude oil production rises by 0.8 mb/d in 2016, with Iran accounting for most of the increase,” EIA estimated.
OPEC non-crude liquids production averaged 6.6 mb/d in 2015, and it is forecast to increase by about 0.3 mb/d in both 2016 and 2017, led by increases in Iran and Qatar.
According to the latest official statistics, Iran’s gas condensate production stands at 512,000 b/d.
EIA didn’t elaborate on the volume of oil produced by Iran in June, but, according to the latest OPEC report, the country's crude oil output reached 3.644 mb/d last month.
EIA estimates that global oil and other liquid fuels inventory builds averaged 1.9 mb/d in 2015. The pace of inventory builds is expected to slow to an average of 0.9 mb/d in 2016.
The market is expected to reach balance in 2017, with inventory draws during the second half of the year averaging 0.3 mb/d.