Crude oil output from OPEC climbed by 400,000 b/d to 31.27mn b/d in February 2012, up from 30.87mn b/d in January, the highest volume from the 12 producing countries since the autumn of 2008, according to a recent Platts survey.Continuing recovery in Libyan production accounted for 250,000 b/d of the month-on-month increase. Smaller increments came from Angola, Kuwait, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.'What's fascinating about these numbers is that they are so much above what the International Energy Agency (lEA) has said is necessary for OPEC to produce to keep inventories flat - what's known as the OPEC "call",' said John Kingston, Platts Global Director of News. 'For all of 2012, the call is 29.9mn b/d. Instead, OPEC is producing well over a Imn b/d above that, yet oil prices continue to climb.'
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