OPEC+ Countries Cut Oil Output Volume In November By Quarter The Planned Volume — IEA

OPEC+ countries in November 2022 reduced oil production by 480,000 barrels per day (bpd) instead of the planned 2 million bpd, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says in its December report. The real reduction in oil production by the alliance amounted to only a quarter of the planned volume.

“The bloc cut its collective output ceiling by 2 mb/d from November, but actual crude production fell by only a quarter of that as most of the members were already producing well below their targets,” the report says.

The volume of oil production by the members of the alliance decreased by 480,000 bpd compared to October, to 38.38 million bpd. At the same time, the target level of production by OPEC+ countries for November was 40.1 million bpd. That means that the production vs target indicator was at -1.72 mln bpd.

In November, Russia was able to increase oil production (excluding gas condensate) by 90,000 bpd to 9.81 million bpd, but still produces by 670,000 bpd below the target.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia reduced production by 420,000 bpd to 10.48 million bpd, having fully fulfilled its obligations under the OPEC+ deal.

At a meeting on October 5, the countries participating in the OPEC+ deal agreed to reduce production by 2 million bpd from November, and also extended the deal until the end of 2023. The countries’ production volumes in August 2022 were taken as the basis for calculating the reduction in oil production. The communique published at the end of the meeting noted that the decision to reduce production was made taking into account uncertainties both in the global economy and in the oil market. At a meeting on December 4, the countries of the alliance decided to keep the current plan for oil production.

The next meeting of the OPEC+ monitoring committee will take place on February 1, 2023, and the general meeting of the alliance is scheduled for June 4, 2023.