Baku, Azerbaijan, April 14
By Gazenfer Hamidov – Trend:
Iran has increased its oil output in March 2018 after it decreased the production in preceding month according to the OPEC data.
The country’s oil output has increased by 3,300 barrels per day month-on-month to 3.814 million barrels per day in March 2018, OPEC said in its latest monthly report.
Iran’s oil output decreased to 3.810 million barrels per day in February compared to 3.816 mb/d in January 2018.
According to the report, Iran’s March output was 1,000 b/d less than the 2017 average and 295,000 b/d more than the 2016 output.
Last month, Ali Kardor, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), said that Tehran has no plan to increase its crude oil output in 2018.
Iran’s oil output in the current fiscal year, started March 20, 2018 will not increase from the current level of 3.9 million barrels per day, Kardor said.
Iran’s heavy oil price decreased by 0.2 percent or $0.12 month-on-month to $62.15 per barrel in March.
OPEC members decreased their oil output by 201,400 b/d in March to 31.958 mb/d, according to the report. While production mainly decreased in Angola, Venezuela, Algeria and Saudi Arabia, this was partially offset by higher production in the UAE.
OPEC’s top oil producer, Saudi Arabia decreased its output by 46,900 barrels per day to 9.934 million barrels per day in March 2018.
The OPEC report also said that oil demand in Iran has been steadily increasing since September 2017 with gains being observed across the barrel with exception of fuel oil which has been declining due to substitution with natural gas. The overall product performance increased in January 2018 by 24,000 b/d, or 1.6 percent year-on-year.