Reuters poll shows September OPEC output at annual low

A Reuters poll on Thursday showed OPEC’s September oil output fell to its lowest point this year at 26.14 million barrels per day, down nearly 400,000 bpd from the previous month, mainly due to disruptions in Libya.

In August, OPEC produced 390,000 bpd more than in September, according to the Reuters poll, with Libya accounting for about 300,000 bpd of that and Nigeria responsible for 40,000 bpd, while Iraq continued to produce 90,000 bpd above quota.

“OPEC pumped about 130,000 bpd more than the default target for the nine members covered by the supply-cut deals, with Iraq still accounting for most of the excess,” according to the Reuters poll.

Earlier on ThursdayLibyan Oil Minister Khalifa Abdul Sadiq told Bloomberg that the country’s oil production will resume immediately after more than a month of suspended production due to rival government conflict over who will lead the Central Bank, which controls the country’s oil revenues.

The end of this Libyan crisis will lead to the return to the market of several hundred thousand barrels of crude oil per day, which is currently fearing a supply shock from the Middle East on the brink of total war.

Late last week, Libya’s rival governments reached an agreement in UN-brokered talks on electing the leadership of the Central Bank, paving the way for the restoration of oil production and exports. On Monday, the House of Representatives and the State High Council agreed on two compromise candidates to lead the Central Bank and avoid further oil production disruptions and full-scale civil war. The HoR unanimously approved the agreement with the High Cou on Monday

Libya was pumping about 1.2 million bpd before the impasse that led to the suspension of production and exports, controlled by the eastern government and General Khalifa Haftar.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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