Opec’s production capacity to rise 4.68% by 2009

The combined production capacity of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the group that supplies more than a third of the world’s oil, is estimated to rise 4.68 per cent by the end of 2008 to 35.8 million barrels a day from the current 34.2 million bpd, says the latest oil market report of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The Paris-based agency, which advises 26 member countries on energy policy, has said Angola, Saudi Arabia and Qatar underpin this year’s capacity growth, with Saudi Arabia, Angola, Kuwait and the UAE responsible for the bulk of 2008’s increase.
The Opec’s production capacity is expected to rise to 34.5 million bpd by the end of this year, according to the agency’s estimates.

“If Opec production tracks the expected ‘call on Opec crude and stock change’ through the fourth quarter of 2007, spare capacity is likely to temporarily decline from effective levels around 2.7 million bpd now,” the agency noted.

Gulfnews