Opec applied the brakes on its production growth in January, resulting in the smallest monthly increase since September. While the group still notched up its seventh consecutive monthly production increase, a sharp drop this month is all but guaranteed as Saudi Arabia implements its voluntary 1mn b/d cut.
MEES calculates that Opec production increased by just 110,000 b/d last month to 25.51mn b/d (see table). This is far less than the approximately 300,000 b/d easing of Opec restrictions agreed on in December (total Opec+ production cuts were eased by 500,000 b/d: MEES, 4 December 2020). (CONTINUED - 971 WORDS)
