RIYADH (The Thursday Times) — Saudi Arabia raised its crude oil production to 10.563 million barrels per day in October, its highest level since the Iran war began, leading a sharp rise in output across OPEC+, the producer group said in its monthly report on Wednesday.
The kingdom told OPEC its output rose from 8.372 million barrels per day in September. It was the highest since February, when Saudi Arabia reported 10.882 million barrels per day after sharply raising production ahead of the US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
The wider OPEC+ group pumped 41.23 million barrels per day in October, up about 2.04 million from September, according to secondary sources cited in the report. That is close to the 42.72 million barrels per day the group produced in February, and suggests Gulf producers are recovering exports through workarounds, such as ship-to-ship transfers, despite continued disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Demand forecasts held
Russia’s output rose by 41,000 barrels per day to 8.668 million, the report said. OPEC left its forecasts for world oil demand growth unchanged after cutting them for six straight months. It expects demand to grow by 180,000 barrels per day this year and by 2.55 million barrels per day next year, to an average of 108.3 million.
The rise comes as attacks on shipping continue in and around the strait, where a tanker caught fire after hitting a mine this week and an ADNOC vessel was damaged inside UAE waters.
