OPEC Reports Uptick in Iran’s July Output

EghtesadOnline: Iran increased crude oil production last month along with most other OPEC producers as the 14-nation group continues efforts.

News ID: ۷۴۳۲۴۰

12 August 2017

Iran pumped 3.824 million barrels of oil a day in July, up nearly 7,000 barrels per day from the previous month, OPEC said in its latest monthly report on Thursday, citing secondary sources. That is 30,000 bpd higher than the country's average output in the second quarter of the year and above a ceiling of 3.8 million bpd set for Iranian output through March 2018.

Government officials told OPEC that Iran produced 3.900 million bpd in July from 3.880 million bpd in June. OPEC uses two sets of figures to monitor its output—figures provided by each country and secondary sources that include industry media.

However, according to Financial Tribune, the increase in Iranian supplies was dwarfed by those of Libya and Nigeria, two emerging African producers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Libyan production jumped 154,300 bpd in July to just over 1 million barrels a day as the country's largest oilfield, Sharara, came back on streamlast month. Nigeria also raised output by 34,300 bpd to 1.74 million barrels.

Top exporter Saudi Arabia ramped up output by 31,800 bpd to 10.067 million bpd while Iraq, OPEC's second-largest producer, cut back output by nearly the same amount as that of the kingdom, the secondary sources said.

According to five secondary sources, total OPEC crude oil production averaged 32.87 million bpd in July, an increase of 173,000 bpd over the previous month. That is bad news for OPEC members who hold nearly 40% of global oil reserves and rely on the fossil fuel as their main stream of revenue.

OPEC and 11 other producers have pledged to cut down output by a total of 1.8 million barrels a day through March 2018 to ease inventories and lift prices. But oil has seesawed in a range of $45-55 a barrel in recent weeks, as low compliance of some producers has weakened the crude production cut agreement.

Oil demand also grew in Iran, Iraq, UAE and Qatar, with transportation fuels, notably jet fuel and gasoline, dominating the increase in all countries. However, demand in the Middle East remained flat year-on-year in 2016.

The report also included a rare section on developments in the wind power sector.

In March of this year, Iran’s Energy Ministry inaugurated a 55-megawatt wind farm in the town of Takestan in Qazvin Province, with a group of Iranian companies having invested over $92 million for the project, OPEC said.