Quantifying OPEC Plus spare production capacity a difficult task

Reportedly, OPEC leaders Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates stand ready to deliver a significant increase in oil output should the world face a severe supply crisis this winter.

When the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC Plus) decided on Wednesday to raise oil output by a mere 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), it broke a taboo with a rare reference to the group's spare production capacity.

The statement referred to the severely limited availability of spare capacity, saying that meant it needed to keep it in reserve for severe supply disruptions.

At first glance, that reads as an acknowledgement that OPEC’s leader Saudi Arabia has almost no room to raise output, as mentioned by French President Emmanuel Macron in a conversation with US President Joe Biden last month.

Three sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Saudi Arabia and the UAE could pump significantly more, but would only do so if the supply crisis worsened.

"With possibly no gas in Europe this winter, with a potential price cap on Russian oil sales in the New Year, we can’t be throwing every barrel on the market at the moment, one of the sources said.

The sources did not quantify any increase, but said Saudi Arabia, the UAE and some other OPEC members possessed around 2.0 million to 2.7 million barrels per day of spare production capacity.

"The only time we can prove we have more spare capacity is when it comes to a long-lasting crisis," the source said, adding that would be when OPEC members would raise output.

That could be as soon as this winter, the sources said, as the political and economic standoff between Russia, a member of OPEC+, and the West over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine show no sign of easing.

The invasion, begun on February 24, which Moscow terms a "special military operation" sent European gas prices to records and lifted international Brent crude to 14-year highs.

"With spare capacity below 2 million bpd in August, we believe OPEC Plus preferred to keep their powder dry and use their buffer to address potential future disruptions," PVM's Tamas Varga said in a note.

"There are growing fears of demand destruction and if the current trend continues, additional barrels would put unwanted downside pressure on prices and, at the same time, would unnecessarily deplete thinning spare capacity."

After Biden visited Saudi Arabia in July to press for extra oil to cool international markets, analysts had speculated OPEC Plus would increase supply.

The Saudi trip was scheduled only after OPEC Plus announced in early June that it would increase output in July and August. Wednesday’s meeting discussed output for September.

Most OPEC Plus members have struggled to meet production targets having already exhausted their output potential following years of under-investment in new capacity.

In that context, Wednesday's decision to increase production targets by 100,000 bpd, one of the smallest increases since OPEC quotas were introduced in 1982, was a goodwill gesture, one of the sources said.

"It is small, yes, but it shows that OPEC Plus, given the fact that it includes so many countries, like Russia, Iran, Venezuela with all their grievances, managed to garner consensus and move forward," the source said.

Following Wednesday's decision, the White House said President Biden would remain focused on keeping fuel prices down.

 

OPEC Plus agrees to increase oil production by paltry 100,000 bpd

OPEC Plus in its meeting today (Wednesday) agreed to raise oil output by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), a quantity analysts say is an insult to US President Joe Biden. In his recent trip to Saudi Arabia, the producer group's leader, Biden had asked to pump more to help the United States and the global economy.

The increase, equivalent to 86 seconds of daily global oil demand, follows weeks of speculation that Biden's trip to the Middle East and Washington's clearance of missile defence system sales to Riyadh and the United Arab Emirates will bring more oil to the world market.

"That is so little as to be meaningless, from a physical standpoint, it is a marginal blip. As a political gesture, it is almost insulting," said Raad Alkadiri, Managing Director for energy, climate, and sustainability at Eurasia Group.

The increase of 100,000 bpd will be one of the smallest since OPEC quotas were introduced in 1982, OPEC data shows.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, led by Russia, a group known as OPEC Plus that was formed in 2017, had been increasing production by about 430,000 to 650,000 bpd a month.

They had struggled to meet full targets as most members have exhausted their output potential following years of under-investment in new capacity. Combined with disruption linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, the lack of spare supply has driven up energy markets and spurred inflation.

With US inflation around 40-year highs and Biden's approval ratings under threat unless gasoline prices fall, the president travelled to Riyadh last month to mend ties with Saudi Arabia, which collapsed after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi four years ago.

Saudi de-facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom Western intelligence accused of being behind the Kashoggi murder - which he denies - also travelled to France last month as part of efforts to rebuild ties with the West.

On Tuesday, Washington approved US$5.3 billion worth of defensive missile system sales to the UAE and Saudi Arabia but it has yet to roll back its ban on offensive weapon sales to Riyadh.

OPEC Plus, which will next meet on September 05, 2022, said in a statement that limited spare capacity requires it to be used with great caution in response to severe supply disruptions. It also said a chronic lack of investment in the oil sector will impact adequate supply to meet growing demand beyond 2023.

Sources within OPEC Plus, speaking on condition of anonymity, also cited a need for cooperation with Russia as part of the wider OPEC Plus group.

Benchmark Brent oil futures jumped by around US$2 per barrel after OPEC's decision to trade close to US$101 per barrel.

Shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow terms a "special military operation", oil prices rose to their highest in 14 years.

By September, OPEC+ was meant to have wound down all of the record production cuts it implemented in 2020 in response to the impact of the pandemic.

By June this year, OPEC Plus production was almost 3 million barrels per day below its quotas as sanctions on some members and low investment by others crippled its ability to boost output. Only Saudi Arabia and the UAE are believed to have some spare capacity.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he had been told that Saudi Arabia and the UAE had very limited ability to increase oil production.