OPEC Reaffirms Iran's Pledge to Supply Cuts

Iran continues to adhere to a global agreement to scale back crude oil production as OPEC data on Monday showed further cuts in the country's monthly oil output.

The No. 3 OPEC producer pumped an average of 3.823 million barrels per day in October, down 11,300 bpd from the previous month, OPEC said in its latest monthly report, citing secondary sources.

Iran's own data submitted to OPEC pointed to bigger cuts. The country said it pumped 3.81 million barrels of crude per day last month compared to 3.84 million bpd in September.

OPEC uses two sets of figures to monitor its output - figures provided by each country, and secondary sources which include industry media.

Output cuts by Iran and other producers contributed to a decrease of 151,000 bpd in OPEC's total production in October that slid to 32.59 million barrels a day from 32.74 million bpd in September.

According to secondary sources, Angola, Libya and Saudi Arabia rose production while supplies showed declines mainly in Iraq as well as in Nigeria, Venezuela, Algeria and Iran.

The report comes ahead of a meeting of OPEC and outside producers in Vienna later this month to discuss extending production cuts from March 2018 through the end of next year.

Under the current supply cut accord, OPEC and 11 other nations have agreed to reduce supplies by 1.8 million barrels per day in an effort to lift prices and re-balance the market.

Speculations on extending the cuts have pushed prices to their highest levels in more than two years above the $60-per-barrel mark.

OPEC also forecast the production of natural gas liquids by its members to remain unchanged in 2017 from the previous assessment, averaging 6.31 million bpd.

However, the group anticipated a growth of 180,000 bpd in NGL output next year, with new supplies mainly expected from Iran and Saudi Arabia.

According to the monthly report, Iran Heavy, the country's main oil grade for export, traded up 3.9% from the previous month to $50.08 per barrel. Compared to the previous year, the value of OPEC basket of 14 crudes rose 28%, or $11.23 higher, at $50.68 per barrel.

Iran's Oil Ministry said on Sunday the country's heavy light oil gained $2.59 to $60.04 per barrel in the week to Nov. 3 while Iran Heavy settled up $2.52, or about 4.5%, to $57.47. Both crudes rose around 4.5% in the week.

source: Financial Tribune

OPEC oil oil ministry