OPEC oil output in June rose from its lowest in more than two decades, a Reuters survey found, as Persian Gulf members began reviving supplies shut during the Iran war and effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Output by the 11-member Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries rose by 3.3 million barrels per day month-on-month to 19.43 million bpd, the survey found.
That marked a recovery from last month, which was the lowest monthly figure since at least 2000, according to Reuters surveys, and also well below the levels seen during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 when demand collapsed.
The figures exclude the United Arab Emirates, which quit OPEC as of May 1. Kuwait and Iran experienced the biggest increases, the survey found. The US ended its blockade of ships to and from Iranian ports, which had been forcing cuts in output.
Saudi Arabia and Iraq also increased output, sources in the survey said. Nigeria and Libya, whose shipments were not affected by the Iran war, also pumped more.
Seven members of the OPEC+ producer group, which includes OPEC plus allies including Russia, had agreed to raise production in June, but the Iran war made that impossible.
The Reuters survey is based on flow data from financial group LSEG, information from other companies that track flows, such as Kpler, and information provided by sources at oil companies, OPEC and consultants.
(Reporting by Alex Lawler; additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar, editing by Elaine Hardcastle)