Opec supply set for huge fall in August
The 14-member group has agreed to cut output by about 1.2m barrels a day until March 2018 to cut inventories and support prices.
Compliance with the deal has been high so far but Opec production hit a 2017 peak in July, in part on increased output from Libya and Nigeria, which were exempted from the pact due to production-sapping unrest.
“Opec-14 supply is expected to average 32.8m barrels per day in August representing a decline of 419,000 barrels per day as compared to the 2017 high observed in July,” said Daniel Gerber, chief executive of PetroLogistics.
“Opec crude oil exports fell by a whopping 750,000 barrels per day through the first half of August. An increase was observed in Latin American exports while decreases occurred in both the Middle East and Africa,” he said.
Geneva-based Petro Logistics is among several consultancies that estimate Opec supply by tracking tanker shipments. Supply refers to a country’s crude exports plus domestic use, rather than to production. PetroLogistics did not specify which countries were exporting less crude in August.
However, top exporter Saudi Arabia has said its exports would drop to 6.6m barrels per day this month, almost one million below levels a year ago. Brent Crude was down by about 56c yesterday at $52.16.
Reuters
