Platts Survey: OPEC Pumps 29.8 Million Barrels of Oil Per Day in February

The 12-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) crude oil production output jumped to an average 29.8 million barrels per day (b/d) in February, as Saudi Arabia continued to boost production, according to a just-released Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts. This is up 230,000 b/d from an estimated 29.57 million b/d in January.

The increase more than offset the drop in Libyan supplies, estimated to have averaged 190,000 b/d over the month, as the deepening conflict hit the North African country's oil production and exports in the final week of February.

Excluding Iraq, which does not participate in OPEC output agreements, the 11 members bound by quotas (OPEC-11) pumped an average 27.1 million b/d in February, 190,000 b/d more than January's 26.91 million b/d, the survey showed.

Libyan output is estimated to have dropped to around 1.39 million b/d from January's 1.58 million b/d following the withdrawal of foreign oil company staff and consequent production shut-ins. The International Energy Agency last Friday estimated that the volume of shut-in production had now reached 1 million b/d.

Saudi Arabia boosted production by 300,000 b/d to 8.7 million b/d, nearly 700,000 b/d more than its assumed OPEC quota.

Other increases came from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Ecuador, while Angolan and Nigerian production dipped by 10,000 b/d and 20,000 b/d respectively.

The survey showed that the OPEC-11 exceeded their notional 24.845 million b/d output target by 2.255 million b/d, reducing their level of compliance with the 4.2 million b/d of output cuts agreed in late 2008 to 46.3% from 50.8%.