Opec production down 2m bpd in 2019
VIENNA, January 20, 2020
Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has reported a 6.3 per cent (some 2 million barrels per day) decrease in its production in 2019 compared to 2018.
This decrease is in line with the organisation's recent decisions, in coordination with major independent producers, to maintain the balance in the global oil market, said a report.
In December 2019, Opec issued decisions to reduce production by 500,000 barrels per day, which increased the ceiling of the reduction to some 1.7 million barrels per day over the past few years. Daily production decreased to some 29.86 million barrels per day by the end of 2019, compared to 31.864 million in 2018.
Production decreased during the first half of 2019 to 29.974 million barrels per day, and this decrease continued in the second half of the year, accounting for 29.6 million barrels. By calculating daily production rates throughout the year, this figure reached 29.86 million barrels, said Opec data.
On a monthly level, production decreased in December to 29.444 million barrels per day, compared to 29.60 million in November.
The production decline in December contributed to a surge in the price of Opec’s oil basket by 5.6 percent, reaching $66.48 per barrel, the highest price since April 2019.
