IEA: OPEC crude oil output down by 550,000 b/d

By  Trend

OPEC crude oil production tumbled 550,000 barrels per day in March, to 30.1 million barrels per day (mb/d), on further cuts from Saudi Arabia and steep losses in Venezuela, Trend reports citing the Oil Market Report of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Saudi output dropped to its lowest in over two years, boosting compliance with supply cuts to 153 percent, according to IEA estimates.

The call on OPEC rises to 30.9 mb/d in 2Q19, reads the report.

This is while global refining throughput fell by 2.5 mb/d in March as unplanned outages and accidents hindered the US in particular.

“Our 2019 growth estimate is revised down to 0.7 mb/d on tighter crude market fundamentals: 3Q19 could see the largest draws since 2011. OECD oil stocks fell by 21.7 mb on the month in February after three months of increases. The decrease was more than the five-year average of 5.1 mb due to larger gasoline draws and a lower crude build. March preliminary data show a significant crude build in Europe,” said the report.