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OPEC oil output falls in February on Saudi additional cut -survey

Published 01/03/2021, 13:31
Updated 01/03/2021, 13:36
© Reuters.

* OPEC February output falls 870,000 bpd from January
* Compliance with OPEC+ cut pledges rises to 121%
* Saudi posts biggest output drop, Nigeria shows largest
gain
* For production by country, click By Alex Lawler
LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - OPEC oil output fell in February
as a voluntary cut by Saudi Arabia added to agreed reductions
under a pact with allies, a Reuters survey found, ending a run
of seven consecutive monthly increases.
The 13-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries pumped 24.89 million barrels per day (bpd) in
February, the survey found, down 870,000 bpd from January. This
is the first monthly decline since June 2020.
OPEC and allies, known as OPEC+, decided to keep supply
mostly steady for February while Saudi Arabia made an extra cut
out of concern about a slow recovery in demand.
With oil LCOc1 rising to a 13-month high last week, OPEC+
is set to discuss pumping more at a meeting on Thursday.
"So far, the members of the alliance have been cooperating
and implementing the cuts in exemplary fashion," said analyst
Eugen Weinberg at Commerzbank.
"We believe that the high prices will prompt OPEC+ to step
up its production by 500,000 barrels per day, while at the same
time withdrawing Saudi Arabia's additional production cut."
Top exporter Saudi Arabia pledged an additional 1 million
bpd output cut for February and March to ensure inventories do
not build up.
Riyadh achieved about 850,000 bpd of that reduction in
February, the Reuters survey found.
Consultants including PetroLogistics, which tracks tanker
shipments, said Saudi exports remained higher than expected last
month.
The Saudi move means OPEC is pumping much less than called
for under the OPEC+ deal - the supplier group's pact with
non-OPEC producers.
Compliance with pledged cuts in February was 121%, the
survey found, up from 103% in January.

IRAN PUMPS LESS
Iran, which is exempt from OPEC cuts and hoping to raise
exports if U.S. sanctions are eased, also supplied less crude in
February as a surge in exports appeared to run out of steam.
Nonetheless, its exports and production remained higher than
many months of 2020.
Angola scheduled fewer cargoes for export in February and
Libyan output also declined after a port strike disrupted
shipments.
Among countries pumping more, Nigeria posted the biggest
gain of 100,000 bpd after exports of Qua Iboe, one of its
largest production streams, recovered.
Venezuela, contending with both U.S. sanctions and a
long-term decline in output, also posted a rise in supply.
The Reuters survey aims to track supply to the market and is
based on shipping data provided by external sources, Refinitiv
Eikon flows data, information from tanker trackers such as
Petro-Logistics and Kpler, and information provided by sources
at oil companies, OPEC and consultants.

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