OPEC+ Aug crude output down 300,000 b/d on declines in Libya, Kazakhstan: Platts survey

OPEC+ crude output fell by 300,000 b/d to 40.73 million b/d in August, as maintenance in Kazakhstan and outages in Libya hit the group’s production, the Platts OPEC+ survey from S&P Global Commodity Insights showed Sept. 9.

Despite this decline, countries with quotas produced 327,000 b/d above target in August. This was down from overproduction of 437,000 b/d in July.

Overproduction continues to be a major issue, as the group struggles to shore up falling oil prices amid demand uncertainty, and high production levels outside the group.

Libya led the decline in OPEC production. Shutdowns caused by a political dispute saw the country's output in August fall by 160,000 b/d month on month to 990,000 b/d.

Among non-OPEC producers, Kazakhstan saw the biggest decline, with maintenance at its Tengiz field leading to a 120,000 b/d month-on-month output cut to 1.45 million b/d.

Kazakhstan, alongside OPEC’s Iraq, has produced well above its quota in 2024. The two have pledged to compensate for overproduction by the end of September 2025. Iraqi output in August was unchanged month on month at 4.33 million b/d -- well above its August quota of 3.93 million b/d.

Russia, the largest non-OPEC producer in the alliance, cut output by 50,000 b/d to 9.05 million b/d. This is above its quota of 8.98 million b/d. Production in Saudi Arabia, which has the same quota, was flat month on month at 8.99 million b/d.

Overproduction by the group has contributed to a fall in oil prices through the summer. Platts, part of Commodity Insights, assessed Dated Brent at $73.025/b on Sept. 6, down from 2024 highs of over $93/b in early April.

In response, OPEC and its allies have delayed plans to start gradually rolling back 2.2 million b/d of voluntary cuts by two months to December, it said Sept. 5. The group had planned to slowly ease voluntary production cuts by eight members -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Algeria, Oman, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Russia and the UAE -- depending on market conditions and starting with 190,000 b/d in October.

Since this announcement, prices have fallen further, with Dated Brent assessed at $75.225/b on Sept. 4.

The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee which oversees the agreement is next due to meet Oct. 2. A full OPEC+ ministerial meeting is scheduled for Dec. 1 in Vienna. The group can call extraordinary meetings if it considers market conditions require discussion of policy changes.

The Platts survey measures wellhead production and is compiled using information from oil industry officials, traders and analysts, as well as by reviewing proprietary shipping, satellite and inventory data.