Opec+ falls short in April

Opec+ falls short in April

London, 10 May (Argus) — Opec+ production fell massively short of its target in April as capacity constraints and international sanctions undermined supply.

Output by the Opec+ coalition was down for the second consecutive month, dropping by around 500,000 b/d compared with March to 37.56mn b/d in April. Production was nearly 2.4mn b/d below the group's combined target of 39.94mn b/d for the month — an 890,000 b/d increase in the shortfall between the target and actual output compared with March.

The fall in Opec+ output was driven by an 870,000 b/d slump in Russian production to 9.13mn b/d, a 16-month low. Many European refiners and trading firms have cut back on Russian crude purchases ahead of EU and Swiss sanctions that come into effect on 15 May. The European Commission has proposed an "orderly" phasing out of EU oil imports from Russia by the end of this year, but the proposal faces some resistance and demands for carve-outs from EU members Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Lower Russian production more than offset a 500,000 b/d increase in supply by Opec member countries that are subject to targets as Saudi Arabia and Iraq boosted output. But total Opec production was only 330,000