Reuters
Vienna
Opec oil output has risen in November from the previous month, a Reuters survey found yesterday, led by a rebound in Iraqi exports after bad weather had temporarily halted supply growth from the group’s second-largest producer.
The increase indicates the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is again pumping close to a record high as Saudi Arabia and other big producers focus on market share. Opec meets this week to review the policy, with no change expected.
Opec supply has risen in November to 31.77mn barrels per day (bpd) from 31.64mn in October, according to the survey, based on shipping data and information from sources at oil companies, Opec and consultants.
The Opec meeting on Friday comes almost a year after its historic decision, led by Saudi Arabia, to refuse to prop up prices. Oil has more than halved in 18 months due to persistent oversupply, but even those in Opec who want a change in approach do not expect one.
“I am seeing that Saudi Arabia will not change its position,” said an Opec delegate from a non-Gulf country. “No favorable outcome will be reached at the next meeting.”
Opec has boosted production by about 1.50mn bpd since its November 2014 policy shift. Output is not far below July’s 31.88mn bpd, the highest since Reuters records began in 1997.
The biggest monthly rise in output has come from Iraq, the world’s fastest growing source of supply growth this year.
Exports from Iraq’s main outlet, its southern terminals, have risen in November to at least 3.06mn bpd and could top that and set a record high if tankers currently waiting depart before Tuesday, according to loading data and industry sources.
