OPEC Oil Production Jumps by 470,000 Bpd as Libyan Output Returns

The return of Libya’s oil production to full capacity raised the total OPEC output by 466,000 barrels per day (bpd) in October from September, the cartel’s monthly report showed on Tuesday, less than two months ahead of a planned reversal of part of the cuts.

Total crude oil production in all 12 OPEC members averaged 26.53 million bpd in October 2024, up by 466,000 bpd compared to September, according to secondary sources in OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report published today.

Crude oil output increased mainly in Libya, Nigeria and Congo, while production in Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait decreased, OPEC said.

Libya saw a jump of 556,000 bpd in its production last month after the political impasse that had halted more than half of its output was resolved.

Libya had most of its output halted for the whole month of September, and its oil production was decimated after the country’s two rival administrations locked horns over the appointment of a new central bank governor.

Following the resolution of this latest crisis, Libyan oil production resumed in early October and is now estimated to have exceeded pre-crisis levels and hit 1.3 million bpd.

Iran’s oil production, on the other hand, dropped by 68,000 bpd in October, per OPEC’s secondary sources.

Awaiting a retaliatory strike from Israel, the Islamic Republic reduced output and also exports last month.

Early last month, Iranian oil tankers were spotted moving away from Kharg Island, Iran’s biggest oil export terminal, amid fears of an imminent Israeli attack on the most important crude export infrastructure in Iran. Israel opted for a limited strike on Iran, which has somewhat defused tensions in the region, for now.

Elsewhere among OPEC’s producers, Saudi Arabia, the top producer in the cartel, saw its output stable at just below 9 million bpd—as the Kingdom pledged more than a year ago.

OPEC is set to begin reversing the production cuts in January 2025, market conditions permitting.