Compliance among deal-bound members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies OPEC+ rose to 136 per cent in February from 129 per cent in January, according to delegates and a document seen by Argus, a firm which provides market insights in the oil industry.
The average compliance rate among non-OPEC countries increased to 135 per cent last month from 123 per cent in January, while conformity among the OPEC participants edged up to 136 per cent from 133 per cent.
OPEC+ achieves its monthly compliance rates using the average crude production estimate of six independent secondary sources, one of which is Argus. Argus’ own figures show the group as a whole was 890,000 bpd under target in February, leaving a compliance rate of 130 per cent.
Pressure is building on the OPEC+ group to boost production beyond the current agreed monthly increments to help ward off a potential supply crunch should sanctions levied on Moscow over the Ukraine conflict cause large-scale disruption to Russian output.
The coalition has been raising its collective quota by 400,000 bpd a month since last year.
Under a roadmap agreed last July, that increment is due to edge up to 432,000 bpd from May, when the baseline levels determining quotas and compliance rise for five of the group’s members — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE.
