Strenuous output cutting by Opec failed to rein in global oil supply in December, which jumped by 245,000 barrels per day from November to 86.867 million b/d, according to preliminary PIW soundings. Opec trimmed its crude production by more than 400,000 b/d, but this was more than offset by non-Opec output growth of almost 600,000 b/d (PIW Dec.8,p5). Opec's cause wasn't helped by monthly increases of roughly 170,000 b/d each from Iraq, which isn't subject to the organization's output agreements, and Angola, which is Loading schedules also indicate a small, albeit probably temporary, rise in Nigerian output. Several other Opec members made sizable reductions in output last month, led by Saudi Arabia, whose output excluding its Neutral Zone volumes fell by 350,000 b/d to 8.2 million b/d. Kuwait, Iran, and the UAE all look to have delivered reductions of roughly 100,000 b/d, with smaller contributions from other Opec members, most notably Venezuela, which cut output last month by just 3,000 b/d. This leaves overall production for the 11 Opec members party to output agreements at 26.939 million b/d, more than 2 million b/d above the group's new 24.845 million b/d output ceiling, which came into effect Jan. 1 (PIW Jan.5,p1).
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