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Surplus deliveries from Saudi Arabia and power cuts in Venezuela contributed to lower OPEC crude oil production from 570,000 barrels per day in February to 30.23 million barrels per day. in March, the lowest production of the cartel in more than four years, according to the monthly S & P Global Platts Friday survey.
Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC and the largest producer, saw its production drop in March to the lowest level since February 2017. The Saudis have kept their promise to cut further than what was announced in the pact and reduce production by 280,000 bpd last month, with March output to 9.87 million barrels per day, according to the S & P Global Platts survey.
Venezuela, for its part, saw its production drop to a 16-year low of 740,000 b / d because of the massive power cuts that paralyzed oil production and exports in March. the Platts investigation.
OPEC's second-largest producer, Iraq, cut output by 4.5 billion bpd in March from 100,000 bpd in February, according to the survey. This figure, however, was slightly higher than Iraq's production ceiling of 4.512 million bpd under this agreement.
After a first drop following US sanctions on its sector, Iranian production has remained relatively stable over the last two months and the Islamic Republic pumped 2.69 million b / d in March, revealed the Platts investigation.
The resumption of operations on Libya's largest oil field, Sharara, pushed Libyan output to 1.06 million barrels a day in March, according to the survey.
Earlier this week, the monthly Reuters poll showed that OPEC oil production in March 2019 had fallen to its lowest level since February 2015, with Saudi Arabia reducing more than expected, and Venezuela continuing to struggling under US sanctions and a major power outage.
The combined output of 14 OPEC members stood at 30.4 million bpd last month, down 280,000 bpd from February and at the level of OPEC production. the lowest recorded since February four years ago, according to the Reuters survey.
OPEC will publish the official production figures of its members in its monthly oil market report, which will be released on Wednesday, 10 April.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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