Higher production in Nigeria and Iran boosted OPEC's oil production in June for a second month in a row, according to the monthly Reuters survey published on Tuesday.
OPEC's all 12 producers pumped 26.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in June, up by 70,000 bpd compared to May, found the survey, which tracks supply to the market and is based on information provided by industry sources and shipping data.
Nigeria increased its oil production by an estimated 50,000 bpd last month, as Africa's top oil producer looks to raise output after years of underperforming in the OPEC+ deal, which led to the OPEC+ group cutting its quota at the end of last year.
Iran, exempted from the OPEC+ agreement, saw its output rise to 3.2 million bpd in June, matching the Islamic Republic's recent five-year high from November 2023, according to the monthly surveys by Reuters.
The biggest decline in output came from Iraq, OPEC's second-largest producer, which reduced production by 50,000 bpd, per the latest Reuters survey.
Nevertheless, Iraq continued to exceed its OPEC+ quota last month.
OPEC as a whole produced 280,000 bpd of crude above the implied target for its nine members bound by the pact. Iraq's overproduction continued to represent the largest volumes that were in excess of the OPEC+ targets, according to the Reuters survey.
In May, OPEC's crude oil production rose by 29,000 bpd compared to April as the OPEC+ group headed for the crucial June 2 meeting to decide output policy for the rest of the year. Total crude oil production from all 12 OPEC producers averaged 26.63 million bpd in May 2024, up by 29,000 bpd compared to April, according to secondary sources in OPEC's Monthly Oil Market Report published in June.
Iraq, which has failed to stick to its 4-million-bpd cap on production, pumped 4.195 million bpd in May-down by 7,000 bpd from April, but nearly 200,000 bpd above its target, per OPEC's secondary sources.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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