MOSCOW, June 13. /TASS/. OPEC countries (except Iran, Libya, and Venezuela), participating in the OPEC+ agreement, in May 2023 reduced oil production by 632,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 23.482 mln bpd after the start of voluntary production cuts, according to the June OPEC report.
On April 2, some OPEC+ countries announced voluntary cuts in oil production from May to the end of 2023. At a June 4 meeting in Vienna, these countries extended the restrictions until the end of 2024. The total reduction volume reaches 1.66 mln bpd. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait, and Algeria all have announced voluntary cuts.
Saudi Arabia cut production by 519,000 bpd in May, slightly higher than the announced voluntary cuts of 500,000 bpd. The UAE reduced production by 140,000 bpd (the announced reduction was 144,000 bpd), Algeria - by 36,000 bpd instead of the planned 48,000 bpd, Kuwait - by 95,000 bpd (declared decrease - 148,000 bpd). At the same time, Iraq increased production by 22,000 bpd in May, although it announced a decrease by 211,000 bpd.
In addition to voluntary cuts, the OPEC+ countries, according to the plan, from November 2022 had to reduce oil production by 2 mln bpd in comparison with the August level. Thus, ten OPEC countries, in accordance with the agreement, were to reduce production by 1.273 mln bpd to 25.416 mln bpd. In May, the real volume of the OPEC countries production included in the deal amounted to 23.482 mln bpd, which is 1.934 mln bpd lower than the level stipulated by the OPEC+ agreement.
Ten out of the 13 OPEC members are participating in the OPEC+ agreement to cut oil production, as Iran, Libya, and Venezuela were exempt from the restrictions. In May, oil production in Venezuela increased by 9,000 bpd to 735,000 bpd, in Libya - by 8,000 bpd to 1.169 mln bpd, while Iran increased production by 61,000 mln bpd to 2.679 mln bpd. In general, all 13 OPEC countries in May reduced oil production by 464,000 bpd to 28.065 mln bpd.