It appears the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) finally succumbed to pressure to increase oil output, as available facts show that its members, last month, pumped the highest volume of crude since 2016 into the global oil market.
According to a Reuters Survey published Wednesday, the increase in OPEC’s output was led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Libya, and others who altogether pumped an average of 33.31 million barrels of crude per day in October.
This is huge because back in September, the same OPEC only managed to put out an average of 390,000 barrels per day.
The increased OPEC output also inevitably helped to offset the shortage created by America’s ban on Iranian oil.
“OPEC has boosted oil production in October to the highest since 2016, a Reuters survey found, as higher output led by the United Arab Emirates and Libya more than offset a cut in Iranian shipments due to U.S. sanctions.”
Succumbing to pressure…
Back in June, OPEC members reached an agreement to increase crude output in a bid to curb a steady rally in global oil prices. The price increase followed the US ban on Iranian oil, which led to a shortage in supply with price eventually reaching some $86.74 per barrel in early October.
Recall that the United States’ President, who himself was adamant on imposing the Iranian sanctions despite its consequences, had also put pressure on OPEC to take action towards reducing the skyrocketing oil prices.
It is now unclear whether it was the Trump demands that actually pressured OPEC into loosening up on its 2017 output cuts policy.
Nigeria’s output in October according to the survey
Nigeria, which is a prominent OPEC member and one of the world’s biggest crude producers, increased its output by 30,000 barrels per day in October. Alongside Libya which also increased output by some 170,000 barrels per day, it made up for Angola whose output was impeded by natural challenges.