OPEC oil output rebounded in October from its lowest this year the previous month as Libya resolved a political crisis, a Reuters survey found, although a further Iraqi effort to meet its cuts pledged to the wider OPEC+ alliance limited the gain.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 26.33 million barrels per day last month, up 195,000 bpd from September’s total, the survey on Monday found, with Libya posting the largest gain.
Libyan output recovered after the resolution of a dispute over control of the central bank, allowing full production to resume at oilfields. The extra supply put downward pressure on oil prices already weighed by global demand concerns.
Venezuela also increased output, the survey found, with crude production reaching 860,000 bpd, the highest since at least 2020 based on Reuters surveys. Both Libya and Venezuela are exempt from agreements to limit production by OPEC and its allies, together known as OPEC+.
Among countries posting lower output, Iraq and Iran posted the biggest declines.
Iraq cut output to 3.98 million bpd, below its OPEC+ quota, due to lower exports and domestic consumption, and a drop in production in northern Iraq, the survey found.
Iran has been boosting exports in the last few years to their highest levels since 2018, despite U.S. sanctions remaining in place. In October, though, there was a sizeable drop in exports, the survey found.
OPEC pumped about 46,000 bpd more than the implied target for the nine members covered by supply cut agreements, the survey found, with Gabon exceeding its target by the largest amount.
The Reuters survey aims to track supply to the market and is based on shipping data provided by external sources, financial group LSEG flows data, information from companies that track flows such as Kpler and Petro-Logistics, and information provided by sources at oil companies, OPEC and consultants.
(Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)