OPEC’s Oil Production Remained Steady Last Month, Survey Shows
(Bloomberg) -- OPEC’s crude production was steady last month as the group maintained a cautious strategy while global oil markets falter, a Bloomberg survey showed.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped an average of just over 29 million barrels a day in November, little changed from the previous month, according to the survey.
While OPEC and its partners agreed to continue reviving oil output in the final three months of the year, they chose to sharply decelerate the pace of increases following a surge in previous months.
Global oil markets are showing signs of a surplus, which many forecasters predict will swell next year as supplies from both OPEC and its rivals exceed growth in consumption. Prices are down 15% this year, near $63 a barrel in London. State producer Saudi Aramco on Thursday cut the price of its flagship crude grade to the lowest in five years.
Key OPEC+ members led by Saudi Arabia and Russia decided last month to pause further output hikes during the first quarter of 2026, when they anticipate a seasonal slowdown in demand. The hiatus also gives time to assess how geopolitical factors may impact supplies from Russia and Venezuela.
In November, a small boost by the United Arab Emirates was offset by marginal declines in a number of OPEC nations, including Iran, Gabon and Saudi Arabia, the survey indicated.
The UAE raised production by 60,000 barrels a day to 3.61 million a day, significantly above its OPEC+ quota, according to the survey. Data used by the organization’s secretariat however indicates that Abu Dhabi is roughly in line with its agreed limits.
OPEC+ stunned oil traders in April by suddenly speeding up the restart of output idled two years earlier, despite signs that slowing Chinese demand growth and booming American production meant supplies were already plentiful.
Market Share
Some officials have said the move reflects Riyadh’s desire to recoup market share ceded in recent years to competitors like US shale drillers, and to punish fellow OPEC+ members that had flouted their quotas.
Still, the scale of the group’s actual additions has overall fallen short of the advertised volumes, as some countries atone for initial overproduction and others technically struggle to increase.
At an online meeting on Nov. 30, the alliance settled on a process for reviewing how much members can physically produce, with a view to setting more accurate quotas in the years ahead.
The Saudis and seven of their main OPEC+ partners will hold a video conference on Jan. 4 to review their plans for a first-quarter pause.
Bloomberg’s production survey is based on ship-tracking data, information from officials and estimates from consultants Rapidan Energy Group, FGE, Kpler and Rystad Energy.
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