Saudi Arabia Nov Output Steady, Pumps 9.745m Bpd

Saudi Arabia produced 9.745 million barrels per day of crude oil in November, little changed from the previous month, when it pumped 9.75 million bpd, an industry source familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The Kingdom supplied the market with 9.448 million bpd in November, the industry source said, down from 9.7 million bpd in October.

“Production is the same … supply was lower because of lower direct crude oil burning and also lower intake from domestic refineries,” said the source.

The world’s top oil exporter cut production in October after pumping at record rates of around 10 million bpd for three months running to help offset a plunge in output from fellow OPEC member Libya.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed last week to renew for six months its 30 million barrel-a-day output cap for the first half of 2014.

Both Iraq and Iran, second and third in the OPEC producers’ league table after Saudi Arabia, wasted no time in making clear they have no interest in contributing to a collective cut should one be required next year.

That might require Saudi Arabia to cut output further towards nine million bpd by the middle of next year.

With oil production from the United States rising fast, and a number of OPEC members aiming to restore full output after sanctions and civil strife, a new OPEC deal may be needed as early as the next meeting on June 11.