The latest confirmation that the oil cartel formerly known as OPEC is effectively non-existent, came a little over an hour ago when in its latest November monthly report, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries reported that total monthly crude output for the member nations rose to 31.695 million barrels per day, the highest amount produced in three and a half years.

The production boost was driven not so much by the wildcard Iran (whose own supply will hit the global market in the near future) but by Iraq, as the second biggest oil producer in OPEC Pumped 4.3 million bpd, an increase of 247,500 barrels from the previous month, offsetting a modest 25,200 barrel decline from Saudi Arabia.

 

Bloomberg reports that Iraq has pushed output to record levels this year as international companies develop fields in the south, while the semi-autonomous Kurdish region increases independent sales in the north, according to the International Energy Agency. Production had dipped in October as storms delayed southern loadings and as flows through the northern pipeline were disrupted, according to Iraq’s Oil Ministry.

This was the highest monthly production since April 2012, and shows that even OPEC’s recently announced production ceiling of 31.5 million barrels was already breached even before it was introduced.

 

Some other highlights from the report (link):

  • OPEC says in its monthly report that demand for its crude is at 29.4M barrels/day this year – lower than its current output and 200K less than previous estimates. But it’s keeping 2016’s demand view steady at 30.8M and still anticipates global demand rising about 1.25M barrels/day next year versus 2015’s projected increase of 1.5M. OPEC cautions its “oil-demand forecast for 2016 is subject to considerable uncertainties–depending on the pace of economic growth, development of oil prices and weather conditions, as well as the impact of substitution and energy policy changes.” – WSJ
  • OPEC trims supply estimates for outside the group in 2016 by 250K barrels/day to 57.1M as it expects the price plunge to take its toll on the US oil industry and other producers near-term. It notes US shale-oil production had been declining since April, and “this downward trend should accelerate in coming months given various factors, mainly low oil prices and lower drilling activities.”  – WSJ
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