The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped 28.62 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, down 190,000 bpd from March. Output is down more than 1 million bpd from September, according to a survey by Reuters.
The oil cartel said output fell in April due to a halt in some of Iraq’s exports and delays in Nigerian shipments.
It said the impact of strong adherence by top producers to a supply cut deal by the wider OPEC+ alliance also impacted output.
The Reuters survey aims to track supply to the market. It is based on shipping data provided by external sources, Refinitiv Eikon flows data, information from companies that track flows such as Petro-Logistics and Kpler, and information provided by sources at oil companies, OPEC, and consultants.
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The breakdown of production showed that OPEC output rose 120,000 bpd from November.
The survey showed that Nigerian output rose by 170,000 bpd, which represents the biggest gain in the group, while quota-bound members undershot the target by 780,000 bpd.
Last month, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) said that the country’s crude oil production output may hit 1.8 million barrels per day before the end of this year.
According to the state-owned oil firm, production peaked at 1.67 million barrels per day in March this year, recovering from an all-time low of sub-one million barrels of crude oil production per day in July 2022.
A statement by the energy company said, “An improved production output implies significant economic benefits for the country and all stakeholders.”
(omayowa@globalfinancialdigest.com; Newsroom: +234 8033 964 138)
