Platts: OPEC Output Down 250,000 Barrels Per Day in December
It was the first time the group's output had fallen below 30-mil b/d since last spring. OPEC production was last below the 30-mil b/d level in April last year when it averaged 29.96-mil b/d.
Excluding Iraq, the ten members with quotas under a notional 28-mil b/d output ceiling produced an average 28.25-mil b/d in December, 100,000 b/d lower than November's 28.35-mil b/d.
The combination of sabotage, a prolonged spate of rough weather and some technical problems slashed Iraqi volumes further, to 1.55-mil b/d in December from 1.7-mil b/d in November.
Nigerian production fell back to around 2.42-mil b/d from 2.45-mil b/d in November after an attack on a major pipeline forced Shell to shut in some production.
Saudi Arabian production dipped by 50,000 b/d to 9.5-mil b/d and Iranian and Kuwaiti production slipped by 20,000 b/d and 10,000 b/d to 3.93-mil b/d and 2.54-mil b/d respectively. Other members kept their volumes around November levels, with a small 10,000 b/d increase in UAE output.
At its December 12 meeting in Kuwait, OPEC decided to keep the official ceiling and quotas unchanged but fixed an extraordinary meeting for Jan 31 and hinted that it might be necessary to rein in production early in 2006 to deal with any drop in demand after the winter.
Country-by-country breakdown of production with figures in millions of b/d: Country Dec 05 Nov 05 Oct 05 Sept 05 Aug 05 Quota Algeria 1.370 1.370 1.360 1.350 1.350 0.894 Indonesia 0.930 0.930 0.930 0.930 0.940 1.451 Iran 3.930 3.950 3.950 3.950 4.000 4.110 Iraq 1.550 1.700 1.800 1.990 1.890 N/A Kuwait 2.540 2.550 2.550 2.550 2.550 2.247 Libya 1.660 1.660 1.650 1.650 1.650 1.500 Nigeria 2.420 2.450 2.450 2.450 2.450 2.306 Qatar 0.800 0.800 0.800 0.790 0.790 0.726 Saudi Arabia 9.500 9.550 9.500 9.560 9.550 9.099 UAE 2.500 2.490 2.480 2.480 2.470 2.444 Venezuela 2.600 2.600 2.600 2.610 2.620 3.223 Total 29.800 30.050 30.070 30.310 30.260 N/A OPEC 10 (excluding Iraq) 28.250 28.350 28.270 28.320 28.370 28.000
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