Bloomberg: Iraq Reduced Its Oil Production By 130,000 Barrels Per Day, 3 FEB

 Bloomberg: Iraq Reduced Its Oil Production By 130,000 Barrels Per Day

Energy   Economy News _ Baghdad  OPEC reduced oil production last month as the group and its allies make new efforts to support prices and prevent a global surplus.

Production of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries declined by 490,000 barrels per day last month, reaching 26.57 million barrels per day, according to a survey conducted by Bloomberg.

About half of the reduction came from Iraq and Kuwait. However, the group's implementation of its new production cuts was not in line with the target set by the coalition.

About a quarter of the decline came as a result of unrest in Libya, which is not part of the planned cuts, and total production remains several hundred thousand barrels per day above the collective ceiling, with Iraq and the UAE producing more than their quotas.

OPEC and its allies, led by Saudi Arabia, pledged to make additional production cuts during the current quarter - in addition to the cuts made last year - as global oil demand growth slows and competitive supplies, led by the United States, continue to rise.

Oil markets remain fragile, with prices holding near $80 a barrel in the London market even as conflict rages in the Middle East and shipping in the Red Sea comes under attack. Prices are lower than they were when Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7.

The survey shows that Kuwait and Algeria implemented the required cuts, reducing production by 110,000 barrels per day and 50,000 barrels per day, respectively.

Iraq made great progress, reducing its production by 130,000 barrels per day to pump about 4.2 million barrels per day. This led the country, which is under great financial pressure to boost revenues, to produce about 200,000 barrels per day above the agreed-upon ceiling.

Libya's production decreased by 120,000 barrels per day to about one million barrels per day, after the largest oil field was closed due to protests that extended for several weeks.

The implementation of the new cuts by the broader OPEC+ alliance - which includes countries such as Russia and Kazakhstan - was ambiguous.  Views 51 02/02/2024 - https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=40073