Platts Survey: OPEC Oil Output Falls in February, But Still Above Target

Platts Survey: OPEC Oil Output Falls in February, But Still Above Target

March 09, 2007

    LONDON, March 9 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The 10 members
of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
bound by the group's output agreements produced an average
26.62 million barrels of crude oil per day in February, a
Platts survey showed March 8. This is down 330,000 barrels
per day (b/d) from January's 26.95 million b/d but still
well above the group's new 25.8 million b/d production
target established last month. 

    Total OPEC production, including that of Iraq and new
member Angola, averaged 30.18 million b/d, up 70,000 b/d
from January, the survey showed. Iraq is not bound by
OPEC's output agreements and Angola has yet to be assigned
a production target.

    Among the OPEC-10, Nigeria was the only country not to
reduce output. Algeria, Libya, Qatar and the UAE each cut
by 10,000 b/d. Indonesia and Venezuela each reduced output
by 20,000 b/d. Slightly bigger cuts of 50,000 b/d each came
from Iran and Kuwait, while Saudi Arabia sliced 150,000 b/d
off January production to produce an average 8.6 million
b/d in February.

    "OPEC's focus may soon begin to shift toward
loosening its hold on supplies toward the third
quarter," suggests Platts Director of Oil John
Kingston, especially if oil prices stay strong. "With
the price of benchmark West Texas Intermediate firmly in
the vicinity of $60, it's doubtful that OPEC will seek to
significantly tighten the screws on the market."
Kingston says it will be particularly interesting to see
what Iraq and Angola produce over time.

    Iraq, still struggling to rebuild its oil industry
after years of UN sanctions and the US-led invasion of
2003, boosted its output to just above 2 million b/d from
1.66 million b/d in January as exports recovered after
January disruption.

    Angola, which joined OPEC in January, has yet to be
asked to limit its oil output. According to survey data,
the oil exporter boosted production to 1.55 million b/d in
February from 1.5 million b/d in January.

    OPEC ministers agreed last October to remove 1.2
million b/d of crude from world oil markets from November,
saying supply was well in excess of demand and setting a
production target of 26.3 million b/d. In December, they
agreed to expand the cut by 500,000 b/d from February. The
cuts were based on estimated September production of 27.5
million b/d. The target, as of February 1, is 25.8 million
b/d.

    The latest survey shows that the OPEC-10 have cut
supply by more than 1 million b/d since September, when
Platts estimates pegged production at 27.81 million b/d.

    Country      February   January    December   November 
 October      Cut
    Algeria         1.330     1.340       1.350      1.350 
   1.370    0.084
    Indonesia       0.840     0.860       0.860      0.860 
   0.860    0.055
    Iran            3.800     3.850       3.850      3.850 
   3.900    0.249
    Kuwait          2.410     2.460       2.460      2.460 
   2.530    0.142
    Libya           1.680     1.690       1.700      1.710 
   1.730    0.102
    Nigeria         2.250     2.250       2.230      2.230 
   2.300    0.142
    Qatar           0.790     0.800       0.800      0.800 
   0.830    0.050
    Saudi Arabia    8.600     8.750       8.790      8.800 
   9.070    0.538
    UAE             2.490     2.500       2.500      2.550 
   2.600    0.143
    Venezuela       2.430     2.450       2.460      2.460 
   2.540    0.195
    OPEC-10        26.620    26.950      27.000     27.070 
  27.730    1.700
    Angola          1.550     1.500         N/A        N/A 
     N/A    
    Iraq            2.010     1.660       1.900      1.990 
   2.020  
    Total          30.180    30.110      28.900     29.060 
  29.750 

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