OPEC Oil Production Remains Relatively Flat In October

OPEC’s crude oil production last month remained relatively unchanged from September as modest gains among African member states were offset by lower output elsewhere, a survey conducted by Bloomberg has shown.

Per the survey, OPEC produced 28.08 million barrels of crude daily in October, some 50,000 bpd more than in September.

Nigeria boosted its production the most, with Angola, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Congo also pumping more in October. Still, lower production in other members of the group resulted in the modest net increase mentioned above.

Meanwhile, a separate OPEC output survey conducted by Reuters showed a more significant increase in the group’s crude oil production for October.

According to that survey, OPEC nations produced 180,000 bpd more than in the previous month. The total for October, however, was lower than the figure calculated by Bloomberg, at 27.9 million bpd.

In that survey, it was Nigeria again that led the production boost, along with Angola, Iran, and Iraq, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Iran’s oil production hit 3.17 million barrels daily in October, per the survey, which was the highest since 2018.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, kept its output at some 9 million bpd in accordance with its decision to make voluntary cuts and despite hints that it could increase that to limit a potential surge in prices caused by the war between Israel and Hamas.

Even though the de facto leader of OPEC stuck to its production targets, the collective output of the 10 OPEC members that are subject to quotas increased by a combined 150,000 barrels daily, Reuters also wrote.

Even so, the total remains lower than the volume allocated under the quota regime that the group had agreed on earlier as a tool of price control. The shortfall is 560,000 bpd and is the result of some members’ lack of capabilities for boosting production, notably Nigeria and Angola.

OPEC is publishing its official production numbers next week on Friday.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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