Iran’s Oil Production Rises despite Reduction in OPEC Output: Survey
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A survey shows that Iran has increased crude production in December 2016 by 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) although the OPEC's oil output in that month fell from a record high in November.
Iran, which is allowed to raise output under a deal among members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), pumped 30,000 bpd more oil in December, according to a Reuters survey released on Thursday.
OPEC's oil output in December fell from a record high ahead of a deal to cut production, helped by attacks on Nigeria's oil industry and top exporter Saudi Arabia trimming exports.
The decline, the first since May, occurred despite higher exports from second-largest OPEC producer Iraq and a further upward trend in Libyan output.
Supply from OPEC in December fell to 34.18 million bpd from a revised 34.38 million bpd in November, according to the survey based on shipping data and information from industry sources.
Iran, OPEC’s third biggest producer, has more than doubled its crude exports, excluding the ultra-light oil condensate, since December 2015.
Nuclear-related economic sanctions against Iran began to be lifted in January 2016, with the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear agreement between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
