OPEC pumped an extra 310,000 barrels of oil per day in July as rising supply from the Gulf offset outages in Nigeria and Libya, a Reuters survey showed, with members delivering nearly 60 percent of an output hike pledged under a deal with allies.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped 28.98 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude last month, the survey found, up 310,000 bpd from June's revised total.
Some 240,000 bpd of that increase came from the 10 OPEC producers who had signed up to agreement between OPEC and allies led by Russia - a group known as OPEC+ - in which they had pledged to boost output by an extra 412,000 bpd.
OPEC+ is unwinding 2020 output cuts made due to the pandemic, though many are struggling to deliver the full volumes. The deal called for a 648,000 bpd increase in July from all OPEC+ members, including the 412,000 bpd from OPEC signatories.
Another increase in output is not expected when OPEC+ meets on Wednesday. “The meeting is not likely to see a surprise outcome in terms of a production hike,” an OPEC+ source said.
Output has undershot pledged hikes between October and June, with the exception of February, according to Reuters surveys, as many producers lack the capacity to pump more due to insufficient investment, a trend accelerated by the pandemic.
As a result, the 10 OPEC members are pumping far less than called for. Output undershot the July target by 1.3 million bpd, the survey found, and compliance with the remaining pledged cuts was 418 percent, up from 253 percent in June.
