The greatest trick OPEC ever pulled was convincing the world to buy oil even as production kept rising to new all-time highs. Case in point, just out from Reuters:
o OPEC November oil output rises 370,000 bpd month/month to 34.19 million bpd, the highest in recent history.
o Saudi Arabia supply edges down on refinery maintenance and reduced direct crude burning
o OPEC output rise led by Angola, Nigeria, Libya and Iraq
Meanwhile, oil rose to fresh 16 month highs, with Brent rising above $55 for the first time since mid-2015.
(Click to enlarge)
More details from Reuters:
OPEC's oil output set another record high in November ahead of a deal to cut production, a Reuters survey found on Monday, helped by higher Iraqi exports and extra barrels from two nations exempted from cutting supply - Nigeria and Libya.
The latest rise in supply means the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will have a bigger task in complying with a plan to cut supply starting in 2017 - its first production-reduction deal since 2008.
Supply from OPEC increased to 34.19 million barrels per day (bpd) in November from 33.82 million bpd in October, according to the survey based on shipping data and information from industry sources. Brent crude rose above $55 a barrel on Monday, trading at a 16-month high, on prospects of a tighter market next year following OPEC's deal. Prices are still half the level of mid-2014.
"OPEC's decision to cut production has removed a lot of downside risk for 2017," said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB, even though "some cheating is a natural habit among OPEC's members".
Based on the November survey, OPEC is pumping 1.69 million bpd above the 32.50 million bpd production target that it agreed last week to adopt from January 2017, following an outline agreement reached in September. This means that OPEC will need to find an additional half a million barrels to scrap to reach its "promised" quota.
November's supply from OPEC excluding Gabon and Indonesia, at 33.23 million bpd, is the highest since Reuters survey records began in 1997. At last week's meeting, Indonesia suspended its membership again. Related: Is The Pain Finally Over For Oilfield Services?
In November, Angola provided the largest supply boost as planned maintenance on the Dalia crude stream ended. Output also climbed in Iraq due to record exports, lifting supply to 4.62 million bpd in November according to the survey.
Iran, which was allowed to raise output under the OPEC deal as sanctions had crimped its supply, pumped 40,000 bpd more. Indonesian output rose by 10,000 bpd.
Libya and Nigeria, both of which are exempt from the supply cut due to the impact on their output from conflict, boosted production in November.
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Among countries with lower output, the biggest drop came from top exporter Saudi Arabia due to reduced crude use in power plants for air-conditioning, and lower refiner processing, sources in the survey estimated.
The Reuters survey is based on shipping data provided by external sources, Thomson Reuters flows data, and information provided by sources at oil companies, OPEC and consulting firms.
By Zerohedge
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