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OPEC's July output rose, led by Iraq, survey shows

OPEC crude-oil production rose 1.7 percent last month, mostly because of an increase from Iraq, a Bloomberg survey showed.

Daily oil production from all 11 members of OPEC rose 430,000 barrels in July from the month before, to 25.23 million barrels, the survey of oil companies, producers and analysts showed.

Production from the 10 OPEC members with quotas, all except Iraq, rose for a fifth-consecutive month, gaining 130,000 barrels, or 0.6 percent, to 23.3 million barrels a day. The rate was the highest since December and exceeded their combined quota by 1.6 million barrels a day.

"Production is above the quota, but it's not as if they're in disarray," said Sarah Emerson, managing director at Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts. "We've had weak oil demand but OPEC has kept oil prices high."

The OPEC basket price, an average of seven oils, stood at US$24.78 a barrel on Friday, and has stayed within the group's preferred range of US$22-US$28 since March 11.

"Their original production target was too aggressive," Emerson said. "If they'd been on target for the past six months, we'd be talking about whether prices would hit US$40."

Iraq's daily production rose 300,000 barrels to 1.93 million barrels. Seven other OPEC members raised output by lesser amounts, including a 50,000 barrel-a-day increase from Saudi Arabia, OPEC's biggest producer.

Iraqi oil production, which averaged 2.4 million barrels a day in the first quarter, plunged in April as the country halted exports for a month, sending total OPEC output to a 10-year low of 24.1 million barrels a day.
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