The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which has 13 members, stated in a report on Tuesday that oil production rose marginally in August despite Saudi Arabia voluntarily decreasing output.
OPEC oil production increases: Following a decline in July, production increased by 113,000 barrels per day in August to an average monthly volume of 27.45 million bpd, according to an OPEC report.
The decrease by Saudi Arabia, which produced 88,000 fewer barrels per day compared to July in an effort to support falling prices, offset the increase by several members.
Oil prices increase due to limited supply
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China’s sluggish economic recovery, oil producers have been dealing with declining prices and increasing market volatility.
Saudi Arabia said earlier this month that it would extend its one million barrel output cut for the months of October through December of this year.
According to analysts, the monarchy needs oil to cost about $80 per barrel in order to balance its budget.
The benchmark price for OPEC in August increased by $6.27 to $87.33 a barrel.
According to the organization’s report, which cited secondary sources, OPEC’s crude oil output averaged 28.3 million barrels per day in the second quarter, falling 100,000 barrels per day short of demand.
The 2.4 million barrels per day increase in projected global oil demand for 2023 was the same as in the estimate from August.
According to OPEC, “solid global economic growth, along with ongoing Chinese improvement, is expected to further boost oil consumption in 2024.”
According to the organisation, the demand for oil would increase by 2.2 million barrels per day in the coming year, reaching a total of 104.3 million barrels per day.