December oil production levels by OPEC+ fell short of meeting set targets

The output levels of oil production by OPEC+ countries for December have fallen short of matching the budgeted forecasts.

Oil production for the month of December fell by 783,000 barrels per day (bpd) below the planned level, resulting in a total level of 37.44 million bpd, according to figures published in an OPEC report, Caliber.Az cites.

This number is below the target level of 38.22 million bpd previously forecasted for that period.

According to the OPEC report, member states produced 23.17 million bpd in December, which was 61,000 bpd below their quota. Iraq, for example, produced 4.12 million bpd, 34,000 bpd under its allocated limit.

Non-OPEC countries participating in the "Declaration of Cooperation" which forms the broader OPEC+ alliance produced 14.27 million bpd in December, compared with an allowed level of 14.99 million bpd — a shortfall of 722,000 bpd.

Russia in particular reduced oil production by 73,000 bpd from November to 9.3 million bpd, even though it was permitted to raise output to 9.574 million bpd. As a result, Russia’s production was 270,000 bpd below its quota.

Mexico (318,000 bpd), Azerbaijan (98,000 bpd), Malaysia (66,000 bpd), and Sudan (46,000 bpd) also continued to lag behind their quotas for December.

Venezuela, which is not participating in the alliance but is a full-member of OPEC, cut production by 60,000 bpd in December to 896,000 bpd.

Overall, the report highlights that OPEC countries increased production by 105,000 bpd in December to 28.56 million bpd, while total OPEC+ output — including Iran, Venezuela, and Libya, which are exempt from production limits — fell by 238,000 bpd to 42.83 million bpd.

By Nazrin Sadigova