Nigeria Oil Output Rises to 1.27mbpd, OPEC Members Take Cuts
Nigeria recorded an increase in oil production output of 171,000 barrels per day, according to the oil cartel report, rising to 1.27 million barrels of crude oil supply to the market per day in May 2023.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) accelerated its efforts to tighten the oil market in May, as a handful of the group’s largest members sharply slashed output as planned.
In its monthly market report released Tuesday, OPEC said output from its 13 members slumped by 464,000 barrels a day to 28.07 million barrels a day, citing data sourced from independent data providers.
The drop suggests the group’s members have largely made good on a pledge announced in April to reduce their collective output.
The group and a collection of Russia-led allied nations known collectively as OPEC+ pledged to reduce oil production by around 1.1 million barrels a day while Russia said it would extend an already announced 500,000 barrel-a-day production cut.
Separately, the oil producers group left its forecasts for global oil supply and demand largely unchanged. That means the group continues to expect a sharp run-up in demand later this year that supplies will struggle to keep pace with, raising the prospect of higher oil prices.
OPEC expects global oil demand will grow by 2.3 million barrels a day this year to 101.91 million barrels a day, while oil supplies from non-OPEC nations will grow by 1.4 million barrels a day to 72.61 million barrels a day.
The group also made no major changes to its forecasts for global economic growth, which it continues to see at 2.6% this year. China’s economy will grow by 5.2% in 2023 while the economy of the eurozone is expected to grow by 0.8%, in line with earlier forecasts.
The exception was the U.S. economy, which OPEC said it expects to grow by 1.3% this year, up from last month’s 1.2% forecast.
Saudi Arabia slashed crude output by 519,000 barrels per day in May to 9.98 million, OPEC secondary sources show. UAE also cut output by 140,000 barrels per day to 2.89 million per day in May 2023.
Kuwait reduced output by 95,000bpd to 2.56mbpd. However, Iraq increased production by 22,000bpd to 4.14mbpd in the same month.
Algeria cut output by 36,000bpd to 974,000bpd. Nigeria increased output by 171,000bpd to 1.27mbpd. Overall, OPEC keeps 2023 global oil demand growth forecasts unchanged at 2.3mbpd.
