OPEC oil supplies rise in October; Iraq cuts production but exceeds quota
Shafaq News/Oil supplies from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)climbed by about 370,000 barrels per day (bpd) in October, reaching 29.9million bpd, according to a Bloomberg survey. This rise was primarily driven byLibya’s resumption of oil field and refinery operations last month.
Meanwhile,Iraq reduced its oil production by around 90,000 bpd, bringing output to 4.13million bpd as part of its commitment to OPEC’s supply-cutting agreement.However, Iraq's production still exceeded its designated quota of 4 millionbpd.
On Friday, Iraqannounced reducing its crude oil production in compliance with the directivesof OPEC and its allied countries.
The IraqiMinistry of Oil announced in a statement that “aligned with the Republic ofIraq’s dedication to the decisions made by OPEC and its allied nations underthe Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) on voluntary oil production adjustments,we confirm that Iraq has lowered its oil production and reduced exports to 3.3million barrels per day, alongside limiting domestic consumption.”
Regardingthe duration of this reduction, the ministry declared that it persists in thenext months “to ensure production stays within the agreed limits and tocompensate for additional volumes produced in recent months.”
“Thisinitiative seeks to support balance and stability in the global crude oilmarket,” the ministry added.
Iraq is thesecond-largest crude oil producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia and thesixth-largest total petroleum liquids producer in the world. It holds theworld’s fifth-largest proved crude oil reserves, at 145 billion barrels,representing 17% of proved reserves in the Middle East and 8% of globalreserves.
