The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC’s) oil output has risen in June to its highest in recent history, a Reuters survey found on Thursday, as Nigeria’s oil industry partially recovers from militant attacks and Iran and Gulf members boost supplies.
Talks in April between producers on freezing output failed and have not been revived as a recovery in prices to $50 a barrel reduces the urgency to prop up the market. Supply from OPEC has risen to 32.82 million barrels per day (bpd) this month, from a revised 32.57 million bpd in May, the survey based on shipping data and information from industry sources found.
Supply has surged since OPEC abandoned in 2014 its historic role of cutting supply to prop up prices. The biggest increase in June of 150,000 bpd came from Nigeria due to repairs and a lack of major new attacks by militants since mid-June. Iran managed a further supply increase after the lifting of Western sanctions in January while Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates increased supply by 50,000 bpd each, the survey found. (Energy Mix Report)