OPEC Oil Supply Rises 100,000 bpd in March

OPEC Oil Supply Rises in March, PetroLogistics Says
By Grant Smith
March 28 (Bloomberg)

OPEC's crude-oil supply has probably increased by 100,000 barrels a day, or 0.3 percent, in March, according to preliminary estimates from PetroLogistics Ltd.

The 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have supplied 32.9 million barrels a day this month, up from 32.8 million a day in February, data from the Geneva-based tanker-tracking service showed.

Iranian output accounted for most of the gain, rising to 4.05 million barrels a day from 3.92 million a day, the consultant said. Iran is OPEC's second-largest producer.

``Iran had rather a difficult time in February due to weather-related loading delays, and this month they're bringing it back up again,'' Conrad Gerber, founder of PetroLogistics, said in a telephone interview from Geneva.

Iraqi exports from the southern port of Basra have dropped by about 70,000 barrels a day this month to 1.65 million barrels a day because of interruptions including an explosion on the Zubair-1 pipeline yesterday, Gerber said. The two main pipelines serving the Basra oil terminal were unaffected by the blast, an Iraqi official said.

PetroLogistics estimates the quantity of crude supplied to the market, including to consumers in the producing countries themselves, rather than well-head output.

OPEC, the producer of more than 40 percent of the world's oil, has no plans to increase output even if ministers meet informally next month, group President Chakib Khelil said, according to Algeria's state-run news service APS.

Analysts and banks including Societe Generale SA and London's Centre for Global Energy Studies said before OPEC's last gathering on March 5 that the group would probably make unofficial production cuts in the coming quarter to avert a supply glut.

OPEC oil output rose in October

OPEC oil output rose in October: Petrologistics
October 24th, 2007
Gulf Times/Doha

OPEC is already raising oil supply in response to record prices and in advance of its deal to increase output from November, a consultant who tracks tanker movements said yesterday.

OPEC’s 10 members subject to output limits, all except Iraq and Angola, are set to pump 27.5mn barrels per day, up from a revised 27.2mn bpd in September, said Conrad Gerber of Petrologistics.

The estimate indicates that OPEC may be relaxing adherence to supply curbs in response to a jump in oil prices, which hit a record high of $90.07 on Friday.
The group on September 11 formally agreed to lift production from November 1
“It’s a surprisingly large increase,” Gerber said. “The Saudis are obviously pushing out more crude in advance of the November increase.”

Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s top producer, is on course to lift supply to 8.95mn bpd from 8.88mn bpd in September, he said.

Other increases are coming from Iran, which is expected to raise output by 50,000 bpd to 3.95mn bpd and the United Arab Emirates, which is forecast to pump 2.65mn bpd, a gain of 60,000 bpd.

Overall output from the 12-member Opec is set to rise 500,000 bpd to 31.4mn bpd, Petrologistics said, on higher shipments from Iraq and Angola.

Iraqi output is expected to increase to 2.2mn bpd this month, up about 40,000 bpd from September, Gerber said.

Exports are rising because the country is exporting some Kirkuk crude from its northern fields, shipments that have remained sporadic since the US-led invasion in March 2003.

Angolan output, on a rising trend as new fields come on stream, is likely to climb to 1.75mn bpd from 1.6mn bpd in September.

Opec, source of more than a third of the world’s oil, agreed on Sept. 11 to raise output by 500,000 bpd from November 1 in a gesture to consumer nations worried by the economic impact of record prices.

According to Petrologistics, they are now pumping oil at the same level from which they started cutting production in 2006. Opec said the 10 were pumping 27.5mn bpd before the cutbacks began.

Oil prices declined yesterday after the Petrologistics estimate was released.
Oil prices extended losses amid worries that slower US economic growth could dampen global demand, dealers said.

Crude futures scaled dizzy heights last week owing to tight supplies and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East region.

Prices have fallen on fresh "concerns over economic growth and, in turn, oil demand growth," Goldman Sachs analysts said.

Additional downward momentum has come from Kurdish rebels offering Turkey a ceasefire on Monday.

– Reuters, AFP


OPEC Raising Output Ahead of Nov Output Hike
by Spencer Swartz
Oct 23, 2007

OPEC oil production is expected to rise this month by 500,000 barrels a day from September as the group's biggest producer, Saudi Arabia, steps up output ahead of OPEC's Nov. 1 deadline to begin providing markets with new supplies, tanker tracker consultant Petrologistics said Tuesday.

The 12-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected to pump at a rate of 31.4 million barrels a day in October from 30.9 million barrels a day last month.

The group, excluding Iraq and Angola which aren't part of OPEC's quota system, are seen producing about 300,000 barrels a day more than in September at 27.5 million barrels a day, said Conrad Gerber, head of Geneva-based Petrologistics, which bases its figures on movements in the global tanker market.

"We're definitely seeing more production from the Gulf. Saudi Arabia is making more available," Gerber said, noting the kingdom is expected to pump at a rate of 8.95 million barrels a day this month, up 150,000 barrels from September.

Gerber said he didn't believe OPEC would produce in November at the same rate of increase being seen in October. "I don't think we'll go up as much... part of this is the big maintenance program in the United Arab Emirates," Gerber said.

Gerber said non-quota member Angola was expected to boost production by 150,000 barrels a day to 1.75 million barrels a day as new projects enter service in the West African nation.

Nigeria, making incremental headway into returning oil production sabotaged by militant attacks, was seen pumping about 50,000 barrels a day more in October at 2.25 million barrels a day.

Gulf countries Kuwait and the UAE were each seen producing 50,000 and 70,000 barrels a day more this month than in September at 2.62 million barrels a day and 2.65 million barrels a day, respectively.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., or ADNOC, is scheduled to do maintenance at three major offshore oil fields that will ax crude production by 600,000 barrels a day from November for almost a month. State-run Adnoc, which pumps 95% of the UAE's oil, said in late September that it would meet all its term client commitments by "advancing the majority of liftings." Adnoc will do the maintenance, which has been planned for more than a year, at its Upper Zakum, Lower Zakum and Umm Shaif fields.

War-torn Iraq was expected to pump about 60,000 barrels a day more in October than last month at 2.2 million barrels a day, though this could be revised up in coming days, Gerber said.

© 2007 Dow Jones Newswires.

OPEC oil output to rise in July

OPEC oil output to rise in July:
Petrologistics
Jul 25, 2007

OPEC oil output is expected to rise this month due to higher supply from members including Nigeria, Iraq and Angola, a consultant said on Wednesday.

OPEC's 10 members subject to output limits, all except Iraq and Angola, are expected to pump 26.9 million bpd, up from 26.8 million bpd in June, said Conrad Gerber, head of Petrologistics, which tracks tanker shipments.

The estimate, while showing rising supply in some OPEC countries, indicates top world exporter Saudi Arabia is keeping a cap on output in spite of a jump in oil prices towards a record high above $78 a barrel.

"There's no major opening of the taps," Gerber said. "They fear that if they opened the taps, prices would slide."

Nigeria is raising supply in July by about 100,000 bpd to 2.12 million bpd, Gerber said. The increase reflects fewer disruptions to the country's oil industry from militant attacks in the Niger Delta.

Iranian oil output is also on the increase -- climbing by 50,000 bpd to 3.95 million bpd, according to the Geneva-based company.

Overall supply from the 12-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is set to rise 300,000 bpd to 30.7 million bpd, Petrologistics said, as Iraq and Angola pump more.

Iraqi output is on course to reach 2.08 million bpd, up from 1.94 million bpd in June, because the country is exporting some Kirkuk crude from its northern fields.

Storage tanks at the Turkish port of Ceyhan receive sporadic deliveries of Kirkuk by pipeline from Iraq's northern oilfields. Iraq sold 3 million barrels for shipment in July, the first such sale since January.

Angolan output, rising steadily as new fields off the country's coast come on stream, is on course to climb by 30,000 bpd to 1.69 million bpd in July.

By contrast, output in Saudi Arabia, OPEC's largest producer, is expected to hold steady at 8.6 million bpd, Petrologistics said.

OPEC, source of more than a third of the world's oil, agreed to curb supply by 1.7 million bpd, or about six percent, last year in two steps. The second stage took effect from February 1.

Despite July's rise from the 10 members party to the output curbs, output remains lower than when OPEC started cutting production in November. OPEC said the 10 were pumping 27.5 million bpd before the cutbacks began.

The exporter group is next scheduled to met in September to decide production policy.