Opec oil output drops on supply disruptions

Opec oil production in June dropped by 370,000 barrels a day, or 1.2 per cent, mainly because of worsening supply disruptions in Libya, Nigeria and Iraq, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The 12 Opec members pumped 30.61 million barrels a day last month compared with 30.98 million barrels in May, the Paris-based IEA said in its monthly oil-market report. That level still exceeds a target of 30m that the group reaffirmed at its last meeting on May 31.

"Mounting civil unrest by oil workers in Libya led to shut-ins of oil fields and export terminals while oil theft activity in Nigeria inflicted further damage to oil infrastructure," the IEA said. "Iraq output was constrained by pipeline damage in the north and bad weather in the south."

Opec, which supplies about 40 per cent of the world's crude, estimated that its own production fell to 30.38m barrels a day last month, according to a report Wednesday by the Vienna-based group based on secondary estimates. A drop in Libyan output of 207,000 barrels a day led the decrease, along with cuts by Nigeria and Angola, Opec said.

The IEA reported that Libyan crude production fell by 200,000 barrels a day last month to 1.15m barrels and that Iraq's output hit a three-month low when it decreased by 150,000 barrels a day to 3.05m barrels. Nigeria's output fell for a third consecutive month in June, dropping by 70,000 barrels a day to 1.88m barrels, the IEA said.

Output from Venezuela, Algeria and Kuwait also declined in June, while production was unchanged in the UAE, Qatar and Ecuador, according to the agency.

"Marginally higher output from Saudi Arabia, Iran and Angola partially offset reduced supplies from other members," it said.

Saudi Arabia's crude oil output rose by 100,000 barrels a day to 9.7m barrels a day, the highest level in seven months, on increased domestic demand for crude during the peak summer cooling season in the desert country, the IEA said. Iran's production was 2.7m barrels a day in June, up 20,000 barrels a day from the previous month, it said.

* Bloomberg News