OPEC spare capacity stands at 4.7-mil b/d

Fuente: Platts

 

OPEC's eleven members are currently capable of pumping 31.6-mil b/d, 4.72-mil b/d more than they produced in October, a Platts survey of analysts and OPEC and oil industry officials showed Thursday.

But if Iraqi oil exports--averaging 1.61-mil b/d so far in November--are removed from world markets as a result of US military action against Baghdad, the other ten members should be more than able to cover the supply shortfall with combined capacity of 28.7-mil b/d--4.22-mil b/d more than the 24.48-mil b/d they produced in October. A previous Platts survey in April this year pegged total OPEC capacity, including that of Iraq, at 32.2-mil b/d, and that of the OPEC ten--minus Iraq--at 29.15-mil b/d. The survey revises total OPEC capacity down by 600,000 b/d, the bulk of which is accounted for by Kuwait. Indonesian, Iraqi, Libyan and Venezuelan capacity estimates have also been lowered.