OPEC August oil output tops 2018 high.

Catogory : Market Report

OPEC oil output has risen this month to a 2018 high as Libyan production recovered and Iraq’s southern exports hit a record,  although a cut in Iranian shipments due to US sanctions limited the increase.

The 15-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has pumped 32.79 million barrels per day in August, the survey on Friday found, up 220,000 bpd from July’s revised level and the highest this year.

OPEC and allies agreed in June to boost supply as US President Donald Trump urged producers to offset losses caused by the renewed sanctions on Iran and to dampen prices, which this year hit $80 a barrel for the first time since 2014.

In June, OPEC, Russia and other non-members agreed to return to 100 percent compliance with oil output cuts that began in January 2017, after months of underproduction in Venezuela and elsewhere pushed adherence above 160 percent.

Even so, OPEC’s adherence with supply targets has actually risen to 120 percent in August from a revised 117 percent in July, the survey found, because extra barrels from Saudi and others did not fully offset losses in Iran and declining output in Venezuela and Angola.

The biggest increase in supplies this month has come from Libya, whose output remains volatile due to unrest. Production at the , the country’s largest, increased after the restart of a control station t and other fields also pumped more.