Opec output boost severely limited on African members

Opec output boost severely limited on African members

Bloomberg / London

Opec made only part of its planned production increase last month, with supplies hampered by disruptions in two of the group’s African members.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries added just 90,000 barrels a day in December, as a boost by Saudi Arabia was offset by losses in Libya and Nigeria, according to a Bloomberg survey.

The Opec+ coalition led by Saudi Arabia and Russia has been restoring production halted during the pandemic, and on Tuesday agreed to press on with further increases at a rate of 400,000 barrels a day. But the process has been hindered as some members struggle with investment constraints and internal instability.

The coalition’s travails are helping to support oil prices even as global markets tip back into oversupply, with Brent crude futures trading near $80 a barrel in London yesterday.

Libya’s production is in turmoil again after the country enjoyed a year of recovery and stabilisation. Output began to falter after militias shut the country’s biggest oil field, Sharara, ending the month down by 70,000 barrels a day at 1.06mn. With the outage dragging on - and compounded by damage to a pipeline connecting the largest export terminal - production is sinking to