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OPEC output hits 4-year high

30 May 2012 07:49 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. OPEC oil output in May has hit its highest since 2008 as Saudi Arabia kept rates high despite a drop in prices and Iranian shipments did not fall much further ahead of an EU embargo, APA reports citing Reuters.

With tension easing between Iran and the West, OPEC output climbing and concerns increasing about the euro zone debt crisis, prices have fallen back. Brent crude was trading just above $107 on Tuesday.

In May, the biggest increase in OPEC supply has come from Saudi Arabia, which has made clear it would like to see Brent at around $100 a barrel. The kingdom has pumped an extra 100,000 bpd this month, the survey found, taking output to 10.10 million bpd, the highest in decades. There was no sign of its Gulf allies Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates throttling back supplies.
In May, supply from the 12-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has averaged 31.80 million barrels per day (bpd), up from 31.75 million bpd in April, the survey of sources at oil companies, OPEC officials and analysts found.

OPEC’s total is the highest since September 2008, shortly before it agreed to a series of supply curbs to combat recession and collapsing demand, based on Reuters surveys. Supply is running almost 2 million bpd above OPEC’s 30 million bpd target.