Surge in Oil Production in Saudi Arabia and Iraq Amid Decline in Iran's Production

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has reported a surge in oil production in Iraq and Saudi Arabia over the past month, while noting a slight decrease in Iran's oil production during this period. According to OPEC's monthly report published on Thursday, April 27, Saudi Arabia's oil production increased by nearly 350,000 barrels per day, and Iraq's production rose by nearly 320,000 barrels per day. Meanwhile, Libya's oil production also increased by over 165,000 barrels per day in March, leading to a total increase of about 812,000 barrels per day for the 12 member countries of OPEC compared to the previous month. In contrast, Iran's oil production decreased by more than 10,000 barrels per day, reaching 2,773,000 barrels per day. Overall, OPEC's total oil production reached 30,786,000 barrels per day, while the organization's production ceiling is set at 30 million barrels per day. Notably, Iraq recorded a daily production of 3,625,000 barrels of crude oil, the highest since the 1990s. Reuters reported on Friday, April 28, quoting Iraqi Oil Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, that Iraq's oil exports in the current month have reached a record 3,100,000 barrels, up from 2,980,000 barrels the previous month. Iraq aims to increase its oil exports to 3.3 million barrels per day this year. The International Energy Agency also reported on Thursday that Saudi Arabia's oil production reached 10,100,000 barrels last month, with expectations that this figure will rise to 11 million barrels per day in the summer. OPEC assesses that Saudi Arabia's production in March was slightly over 10 million barrels per day. The surge in oil production in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Libya comes as Iran anticipates the lifting of Western economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic in the coming months, allowing it to increase its oil exports. Iran and six world powers have until July 2 to negotiate a comprehensive nuclear agreement. OPEC's monthly report states that the demand for OPEC oil this year will only be 29,300,000 barrels per day, meaning member countries are currently producing about 1.5 million barrels more than the demand for OPEC oil. Global oil prices have plummeted significantly since the second half of last year due to excess oil in the market. OPEC notes that in March of last year, the price of the OPEC oil basket was over $104, but this figure fell to less than $53 in March of this year.