OPEC output rises 360,000 b/d in July: Survey

OPEC boosted its crude output by 360,000 barrels per day (b/d) in July, its eleven members pumping an average 25.2-mil b/d over the month, a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials showed on August 8.

Excluding Iraq, which does not participate in OPEC output pacts, supply from the ten members with quotas rose by 280,000 b/d to 23.5-mil b/d. These ten countries are now exceeding their collective 21.7-mil b/d production ceiling by 1.8-mil b/d, the survey showed.

Only two countries reduced production - Indonesia and Iran - with output falling by 20,000 b/d and 10,000 b/d, respectively. But the combined decrease of 30,000 b/d was more than offset by increases from other members totaling 390,000 b/d.

The biggest single increase--160, 000 b/d--came from Saudi Arabia, whose output rose from 7.49-mil b/d in June to 7.65-mil b/d in July.

"The survey shows OPEC overproducing its ceiling by 1.8-mil b/d, which exceeds the 1.5-mil b/d in cuts implemented at the start of the year," commented PeterZipf, Editor in Chief of Platts' Oilgram News. "A quandary for OPEC is how to accommodate this overproduction into a credible agreement in September, when the group is expected to increase its output."

Iraq, whose exports under the UN's oil-for-aid program have been erratic for several months, was estimated to have produced an average 1.7-mil b/d in July, up 80,000 b/d from June's 1.62-mil b/d.

Venezuela boosted production by 50,000 b/d to 2.72-mil b/d. In April, Platts estimated Venezuela's crude output capacity at 3-mil b/d, although some analysts suggested even then that Venezuelan capacity might have already declined beyond that level.

Nigerian production climbed back above 1.9-mil b/d in July, having fallen to1.87-mil b/d in June. Algerian production has continued to edge up.

Both Nigeria and Algeria are seeking higher OPEC quotas, Algeria having already made a formal request for the matter to be discussed at the September 19 ministerial conference, to be held in Osaka, Japan.

Country-by-country breakdown of production with figures in millions ofb/d:

Country	July 02	June 02	May 02	April 02	Mar 02	Quota
Algeria	0.860	0.850	0.830	0.810	0.800	0.693
Indonesia	1.110	1.130	1.130	1.140	1.140	1.125
Iran	3.390	3.400	3.370	3.340	3.380	3.186
Iraq	1.700	1.620	1.790	1.210	2.510	N/A
Kuwait	1.900	1.890	1.880	1.870	1.850	1.741
Libya	1.330	1.320	1.310	1.300	1.290	1.162
Nigeria	1.920	1.870	1.900	1.950	1.970	1.787
Qatar	0.640	0.640	0.640	0.620	0.600	0.562
S.Arabia	7.650	7.490	7.430	7.430	7.370	7.053
UAE	1.980	1.960	1.960	1.970	1.960	1.894
Venezuela	2.720	2.670	2.680	2.480	2.580	2.497
Total	25.200	24.8400	24.920	24.120	25.450
OPEC 10 (excluding IRAQ.(*)	23.500	23.220	23.130	22.910	22.940	21.70