Opec Cuts Fail To Stem Us Stock Build

摘要

OPEC's crude output fell to 30.74 million b/d in December from 31.38 million b/d in November, a drop of 640,000 b/d, according to Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts. This left the OPEC-11 exceeding their December 27.308 million b/d ceiling by around 200,000 b/d and the organization's new output limit of 24.845 million b/d by 2.665 million b/d. The new target was agreed at OPEC's December 17 meeting and came into effect at the beginning of January.rnMost members reduced output, the biggest single cut coming from Saudi Arabia, where production fell to 8.37 million b/d in December from 8.9 million b/d in November. Other reductions ranged between 10,000 b/d and 40,000 b/d. Reductions totaling 710,000 b/d were partly offset by 70,000 b/d worth of increases from Angola, Iraq and Nigeria. Iraq is not bound by OPEC's production targets, while Nigeria kept within its December limit, despite a 40,000 b/d increase in output. Only Angola, with a 10,000 b/d rise in production, appears not to be heeding OPEC policy.