*OPEC Middle East Production Nudging Up
Production from the Middle East moved up in July after Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE reversed the voluntary production cuts above and beyond the official cut agreement. The largest increases came from Kuwait and UAE, followed by the Saudis. According to Bloomberg the four nations boosted crude and condensate shipments by 758,000 bpd to a total level of 13.68 million bpd in Jul, a 6% move. This increase all but reversed the drop in June with brightening prospects of returning demand.
*US Sends First Crude to Saudis in Nearly a Decade
American oil producers have sent their first cargo of crude to Saudi Arabia since 2002. The US shipped some 550,00 bbls – 18,300 bpd – to the country in June according to Reuters. This was a significant rise on the tiny 1,000 bbl shipment in 2002. Conversely, Saudi Arabia sent 1.2 million bpd of crude the America in May, its highest amount in three years.
*Iraq Pledging 100% OPEC+ Compliance
The Middle Eastern country has said that it will make up for its overproduction in May and June. Their oil minister Ihsan Ismaael said that he was committed to achieving 100% compliance with the cut agreement, despite having been overproducing. They produced 3.698 million bpd in June, over their allocated 3.592 million bpd.
*EIA Reports Large Crude Draw
The American Petroleum Institute (API) yesterday reported a larger-than-expected draw of 8.6 million barrels in US commercial crude inventories. The EIA, however, confirmed that there was a smaller draw of 7.4 million in US crude stocks, but builds in oil products and in Cushing’s oil stocks, but significantly higher than the market’s consensus of a 3.35 million barrels decline.
Crude : -7.4MM bbls
Gasoline : +0.4
Distillate : +1.6
Cushing : +0.5