OPEC oil production rose in February as production recovered in Libya

A survey conducted by Reuters on Thursday showed that OPEC oil production rose in February, as the recovery in Libyan production offset the impact of voluntary production cuts by other members within the framework of an OPEC+ agreement.

The survey showed that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped 26.42 million barrels per day this month, an increase of 90,000 barrels per day compared to January.

Three OPEC+ sources told Reuters that the alliance would consider extending voluntary oil production cuts in the second quarter of 2024 to provide additional support to the market, and two of them reported that they might keep the cuts until the end of the year.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, led by Russia, agreed in November to voluntary cuts amounting to a total of about 2.2 million barrels per day during the first quarter of this year, which included Saudi Arabia extending its voluntary reduction in production.

Under the current agreement, the total production cuts are scheduled to reach 3.66 million barrels per day as of the beginning of April.

Saudi Arabia said that the cuts may continue after the first quarter if necessary.

OPEC+ has implemented a series of production cuts since late 2022 to support the market amid rising production from the United States and other non-member producers and concerns about demand while major economies face a crisis of high interest rates and seek to curb inflation.

OPEC expects relatively strong demand growth of 2.25 million barrels per day, led by Asia, for another year, while the International Energy Agency expects much slower growth of 1.22 million.