OPEC oil output increases in July

According to Reuters, OPEC oil output rose in July, as a rebound in Saudi Arabian supply and small increases elsewhere offsetting the impact of ongoing voluntary supply cuts by other members and the wider OPEC Plus alliance.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped 26.70 million barrels per day (bpd) in July, up 100,000 bpd from June.

The increase comes despite OPEC Plus keeping in place most of its output cuts until the end of 2025 to bolster the market in the face of tepid demand growth, high interest rates and rising US production.

A meeting of top OPEC Plus ministers on Thursday kept oil output policy unchanged including a plan to start unwinding one layer of output cuts from October, and repeating that the hike could be paused or reversed if needed.

Saudi Arabia provided the largest supply boost last month of 70,000 bpd, as exports rebounded from June when they were lower than expected. Production reached 9 million bpd in July, close to the kingdom's target.

Nigeria had the biggest decline of 30,000 bpd, with exports lower month on month.

Small increases came from Libya and Iran, two of the members not required to cut output, and from Iraq. Iranian output reached 3.22 million bpd, the highest since 2018.

Iran has been boosting exports in the last few years despite US sanctions remaining in place. Iraq's output edged higher with exports increasing month on month, flows data showed and a tanker-tracking source said.

OPEC pumped about 240,000 bpd more than the implied target for the nine members covered by supply cut agreements, with Iraq still accounting for the bulk of the excess, the survey found.

The Reuters aims to track supply to the market and is based on shipping data provided by external sources, LSEG flows data, information from companies that track flows - such as Petro-Logistics and Kpler - and information provided by sources at oil companies, OPEC and consultants.