OPEC exports ‘to jump to 580,000 bpd’

OPEC oil exports, excluding Angola, will jump 580,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the four weeks to September 15, mostly on Western oil demand, an analyst who estimates future shipments said on Thursday.

Roy Mason of consultancy Oil Movements estimated OPEC 11 seaborne exports would rise to 24.21 million bpd, compared with 23.63 million bpd in the four weeks to August 18.
Most of the extra barrels – 460,000 bpd – will flow from Gulf producers, Mason said.

He said that despite the jump in supply, the OPEC shipments or exports, were still oscillating within the parameters they had fluctuated in over the last six months.

“Exports are up, but they are not out of line with (flows) over the previous six months,” he said.

He explained that shipments fell from a second peak for this year in April to a seasonal low point in early August and had since climbed strongly on Western demand.

Sydney Morning Herald