OPEC raised its crude oil production in February by 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) amid a rebound in Nigerian output which, however, continues to be well below the African country’s OPEC+ quota, a Bloomberg survey showed on Thursday.
OPEC pumped 29.24 million bpd of crude last month, up by 120,000 bpd from January, according to the survey based on tanker-tracking data, information from officials, and estimates from consultants.
In January, OPEC’s production fell by 49,000 bpd from December as top producer Saudi Arabia slashed output by 156,000 bpd, according to OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR). The report showed that Nigeria and Angola boosted their production the most in January, by 65,000 bpd and 47,000 bpd, respectively. But these producers are among the biggest laggards in their OPEC+ targets—they continue to pump well below their quotas.
In February, Nigeria accounted for two-thirds of the rise in OPEC’s oil production as its output hit a one-year high of 1.44 million bpd, per the Bloomberg survey released today. Recently, the Nigerian government has reached a security deal with a former warlord in the Niger Delta—a deal that appears to be holding off threats to production and leading to a recovery in Nigeria’s oil production.
But the estimated 1.44 million bpd output from Nigeria in February is still well below the country’s quota in the OPEC+ deal, at 1.742 million bpd between November 2022 and December 2023.
According to the Bloomberg survey, the other OPEC producers largely held their oil output steady in February.
The Reuters survey from earlier this week also estimates OPEC’s production to have risen in February by 150,000 bpd compared to January. For February, Nigeria was behind OPEC’s largest increase in production, with the African nation boosting production by 100,000 bpd. Iraq saw the second-largest increase in production, according to the Reuters survey.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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