OPEC Pumped 32.28Million Barrels of Crude Oil Per Day in December: Platts Survey

Oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) fell by 130,000 barrels per day (b/d) in December on lower volumes from Iraq, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, according to the latest Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts.

The latest survey -- which expands the estimate for Iraq to bring in volumes from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and also includes an estimate for Indonesia -- shows December output fell to 32.28 million b/d from 32.41 million b/d in November. For comparison purposes, the November table has been adjusted to include Kurdistan and Indonesia.

“Collapsing oil prices and oversupply used to be a recipe for, at the very least, an emergency OPEC meeting,” said Margaret McQuaile, senior correspondent for Platts, “That is no longer the case, however, and Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies appear to be as committed to their laissez-faire production policy as they ever were. Without the support of these countries for an emergency meeting, it seems unlikely that one will take place – in the very short term, at any rate.”

Volumes from kingpin producer Saudi Arabia dipped last month by 50,000 b/d to 10.1 million b/d. The kingdom is facing an unprecedented budget crunch amid the steep drop in oil prices since mid-2014. Despite sliding oil prices, however, it has given no indication that it is ready to abandon the market share strategy that it persuaded OPEC to adopt in November 2014. Indeed, although the December volume was down from that of November, Saudi output remains above the 10 million b/d it has consistently exceeded since March last year.        

The new budget, King Salman's first since taking the throne in January 2015, forecasts spending of nearly $224 billion, only a small reduction in planned spending compared with 2015. In a research note following the government's announcement in December, Riyadh-based Jadwa Investments estimated the budget to be based on an average crude oil export price of $40.30/b and production of 10.2 million b/d.

Iraqi output fell by 50,000 b/d month on month, to 4.25 million b/d from an adjusted November volume of 4.3 million b/d. The Platts survey previously included in the estimate for Iraq only those volumes exported by the Kurdistan Regional Government under an agreement reached by Baghdad and Erbil in late 2014 to deliver 250,000 b/d of Kurdish exports on behalf of Iraqi state oil marketer SOMO at Ceyhan; it did not include volumes exported by the KRG on its own account.

Indonesia, which has rejoined OPEC, is estimated to have produced some 700,000 b/d of crude in December