OPEC+ oil cut compliance dips in July, ahead of quota easing: Platts survey

    OPEC+ production discipline slipped in July, as Gulf members led by Saudi Arabia ended their voluntary extra output cuts, while some countries that have struggled to adhere to their quotas continued to pump above their caps, the latest survey found.

    Quota compliance by the 22-country alliance fell to 96% for the month, from 106% in July, with its collective production increasing by 1.10 million b/d, according to the survey.

    OPEC+ output is set to rise even further in August, with the coalition hiking its quotas by about 2 million b/d in anticipation of higher global oil demand, though some of the additional production may be offset by so-called compensation cuts pledged by members that overproduced their quotas in May, June and July.

    In particular, Iraq, Nigeria, Angola and Kazakhstan have come under intense scrutiny from their OPEC+ counterparts for their excess output. Iraq has said it will cut an extra 400,000 b/d below its quota in August and September, after missing its target yet again in July, while Angola and Kazakhstan significantly improved their performance in the month.

    Nigeria, meanwhile, maintains that some of its production should be categorized as condensate, which is not subject to the quotas.

    Ministers from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain said in an Aug. 7 statement that they were "encouraged by the recent signs of improvement in the global economy and commend the efforts taken by countries all over the globe to reopen their economies in a safe way."

    A key monitoring committee co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and Russia, the two largest OPEC+ members, will meet Aug. 18 to assess compliance and hash out the compensation cuts.