OPEC Compliance Slips

OPEC compliance with supply curbs appears to have fallen in October but from a level revised higher for September, according to a leading consultant. Preliminary indications from shipping and oil industry data are that OPEC October supply rose 230,000 barrels a day to 26.52 million bpd from a revised 26.29 million in September, Geneva's Petrologistics told clients on Wednesday. Output from the 10 OPEC members, excluding Iraq, that agreed output reductions in March was 23.62 million in October compared to 23.40 million in September, Petrologistics estimated. That would put output reduced by the 10 at 3.672 million bpd in October, or 85 percent of a targeted 4.316 million bpd of cuts, compared to 3.892 million bpd or 90 percent compliance with the target in September. Petrologistics said that the main change on the month was a rise of 115,000 bpd from Nigeria to 1.89 million bpd after community disturbances hit supply in September. It also recorded small rises from Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The Petrologistics report revised down a previous estimate of September output from the OPEC 10 of 23.725. That had put cuts compliance at 82.6 percent. - (Reuters)