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Opec oil output rises in December on Nigeria rebound: Survey

Opec output rises 120,000bpd from November; Nigerian output rises by 170,000bpd, biggest gain in group; Quota-bound members undershoot target by 780,000bpd

Opec oil output rose in December led by a recovery in Nigerian supply from outages, a Reuters survey found on Wednesday, despite an agreement by the wider Opec+ alliance to cut production to support the market.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) pumped 29 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, the survey found, up 120,000bpd from November. In September, Opec output had been the highest since 2020.

Nigeria has been battling for months with crude theft and insecurity in its oil-producing region, hitting output. Many Nigerian crude streams produced more in December, sources in the survey said, with some companies citing improving security.

Opec and its allies, known as Opec+, had been boosting output for most of 2022 as demand recovered. For November, with oil prices weakening, the group made its largest cut since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Their decision from November called for a two million bpd cut in the Opec+ output target, of which about 1.27 million bpd was meant to come from the 10 participating Opec countries. The same target applied in December.

With the rebound in Nigerian output in December, compliance with the agreement weakened slightly to 161 per cent of pledged cuts, according to the survey, from 163 per cent in November.

Output is still undershooting targeted amounts as many producers — notably Nigeria and Angola — lack the capacity to pump at the agreed levels.

The 10 Opec members required to cut production pumped 780,000bpd below the group’s December target, the survey found. The shortfall in November was 800,000bpd.

The Reuters survey aims to track supply to the market. It is based on shipping data provided by external sources, Refinitiv Eikon flows data, information from tanker trackers such as Petro-Logistics, and information provided by sources at oil companies, Opec and consultants. — Reuters