OPEC Pumps 30.1 Million Barrels Per Day in June, According to Platts

OPEC cranked out an additional 80,000 barrels per day (b/d) of crude in June to push average production over the month up to 30.1-mil b/d, a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials showed July 11. Excluding Iraq, the 10 members with crude output quotas pumped an average 28.25-mil b/d, 50,000 b/d higher than May’s 28.2-mil b/d, the survey showed.

Five countries increased output by a combined 140,000 b/d, but this was partly offset by 60,000 b/d of reductions. Algerian production rose by around 20,000 b/d alongside increasing output from BHP Billiton’s Rhourde Ouled Djemma (ROD) field which came into production late last year.

“We continue to move closer toward the level of full production, which of course is an undefined figure,” said John Kingston, global director of oil at Platts. “The inability of OPEC to produce much more is obvious in the relatively small net increase of 80,000 b/d at a time of record high oil prices. A great deal will depend on whether Saudi Arabia, the only member of OPEC with a significant volume of spare capacity, will be willing to produce additional barrels, even though much of its 1.5-mil b/d of surplus capacity is made up of the heavy oil for which the kingdom says there is no demand.”
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