São Paulo – Saudi Arabia has boosted the increase in output of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in May, according to a report released by the organization this Tuesday (12). Output by the member countries increased 35,000 barrels per day (bpd) and reached 31.8 million bpd.
The Saudis increased its oil output in 85,500 barrels per day, while other producing countries, such as Nigeria, Venezuela and Libya, have cut their production.
An agreement reached in the beginning of 2017 established an output cut by OPEC member countries to control excessive supply that was flattening out oil prices since 2014. The measure has already produced results. The agreement expires at the end of 2018, but an OPEC meeting scheduled for June 22 should already put on the table a possible output increase.
Besides last year’s agreement, geopolitical issues – in Iran and Venezuela – have been raising oil prices in the last few months. “A drop in crude oil inventories, a healthy demand and geopolitical reasons have sustaining this upward trend,” says the OPEC report.
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
