Even though OPEC+ had pledged to cut output by 100,000 b/d in October, the alliance hiked production by 220,000 b/d instead, as several members recovered lost barrels by outages and maintenance, a survey by S&P Global Commodity Insights reported.
Sharp production increases from Kazakhstan, Russia and Iraq were offset by losses in Saudi Arabia and Angola, as OPEC+ saw its output soar to 43.23 million b/d, its highest level in nearly two years. According to S&P, only five of the 22 countries involved in the coalition actually reduced production in October.
The two biggest producers of OPEC — Saudi Arabia and Russia — have seen their output levels diverge substantially since the Russia-Ukraine began in February.
Saudi Arabia, which has been OPEC’s largest producer since February 2022, pumped 10.90 million b/d last month, S&P said.
Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman recently accused the US of using its releases from strategic petroleum reserves “as a mechanism to manipulate markets.”
Meanwhile, Russian crude output recovered to a seven-month high last month, as it prepares for an escalation in EU sanctions from December. It pumped 9.85 million b/d in October, up 80,000 b/d, boosted by higher crude exports and refining runs.
