Major Shipment Delay From Nigeria Affects OPEC’s April Output

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, (OPEC) oil output fell in April due to a halt in some of Iraq’s exports and delays to Nigerian shipments.

The Organization also recorded strong adherence by top producers to a supply cut deal by the wider OPEC+ alliance, Reuters survey found on Tuesday.

The OPEC, pumped 28.62 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, the survey found, down 190,000 bpd from March, showing more than 1 million bpd drop from September.

The second-biggest drop of 100,000 bpd came from Nigeria, where Exxon declared force majeure on liftings at its terminals in the country following a labour dispute. The company said on April 27 it had resumed operations after resolving the issue.

The OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, agreed to cut production in late 2022 to support the market as the economic outlook worsened, hitting prices. 

Output is set to drop further in May as a new round of voluntary cuts unveiled on April 2 takes effect.

For April, OPEC had agreed to cut output by about 1.27 million bpd as part of a total 2 million bpd reduction by OPEC+ pledged last year.

With the involuntary declines in Iraq and Nigeria in April, compliance with the agreement increased to 194 per cent of pledged cuts, according to the survey, against 173 per cent in March.

Output is significantly undershooting the targeted amount by 1.2 million bpd because many producers – notably Nigeria and Angola – lack the capacity to pump at the agreed levels.

The largest drop of 200,000 bpd was in Iraq where companies have reduced output in the northern Kurdistan region following a halt to the export pipeline in March. Higher exports from southern Iraq limited the decline, the survey found.

OPEC’s Gulf producers Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates maintained high compliance with their targets under the OPEC+ deal, keeping output steady, the survey found.

Among countries with higher production, output from Angola posted OPEC’s largest increase after maintenance on the Dalia stream hit production in March.

Libya, Iran and Venezuela are the three producers exempt from OPEC cuts. Iranian output was steady, Libyan supply edged lower and Venezuelan production rose slightly, according to the survey.

The survey aims to track supply to the market. It is based on shipping data provided by external sources, Refinitiv Eikon flows data, information from companies that track flows such as Petro-Logistics and Kpler, and information provided by sources at oil companies, OPEC and consultants.