LONDON: OPEC oil output plunged in March to its lowest level since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020, a Reuters survey found, as the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz and forced export cuts.
Crude output by the 12-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in March fell by 7.30 million barrels per day month-on-month to 21.57 million bpd, the survey showed, led by cuts in Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
OPEC and its allies including Russia, known as OPEC+, had agreed to hold production steady in the first quarter of 2026 and to resume increasing supplies in April. The eight members that had been increasing output are due to meet on April 5.
Analysts at Energy Aspects forecast in a March 16 report that this month's OPEC crude production would fall by 7.0 million bpd to 22.2 million bpd because of the shipping disruptions.
Iraq experienced the group's biggest drop in production, which averaged 1.4 million bpd in March after 4.15 million bpd in February, the Reuters survey found. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates made smaller reductions as they both have export routes bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
Only two OPEC nations - Venezuela and Nigeria - raised output during the month, the survey found. March’s OPEC output is the lowest by the whole group since June 2020, when the then 13-member OPEC pumped 22.62 million bpd, according to Reuters surveys, and 21.38 million bpd when adjusted to remove Angola and reflect the same 12 members as today. That level was reached after OPEC+ agreed a record output cut of 9.7 million bpd in response to a collapse in demand caused by the pandemic.
March production could yet be revised lower for some nations affected by the Hormuz closure, two sources in the survey said.
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. - Reuters
