Opec bolstering crude prices by cutting output an exercise in self-deception
Launceston, Australia — Oil cartel Opec’s attempt to bolster crude oil prices by cutting output is now largely an exercise in self-deception, with recent production and export numbers laying bare the group’s shortcomings. While Opec may be able to claim relatively high compliance with its plan to lower output by 1.2-million barrels per day (bpd), it is ultimately just a smokescreen. Of far more importance is evidence that the group actually exported more crude in the first six months of this year than it did in the first half of 2016. Opec exports jumped to 25.92-million bpd in June this year, up 450,000 bpd from May’s 25.47-million bpd, according to vessel-tracking and port data compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Research. Over the first six months of this year Opec exports averaged 25.02-million bpd, up 290,000 bpd from the same period in 2016, according to the data. Opec may be able to claim a small win insofar as the group’s exports have dropped from the second half of 2016, when t...
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