Libya and Nigeria increase OPEC's production
OPEC boosted its oil production in May as output recovered in Libya and Nigeria, two countries exempt from the group's recent deal to curb global supplies, new data shows.
The Saudi-led cartel put out 32.12 million barrels of oil a day last month, up by 270,000 barrels a day in the month before, according to an S&P Global Platts survey released on Friday. That marks OPEC's first monthly increase since it began slashing production earlier this year.
In Libya, daily oil production rose by 180,000 barrels to 730,000 barrels, with the bulk of the increase coming from a massive field that had stopped producing oil for months. Nigeria's daily output climbed by 80,000 barrels to 1.73 million barrels, as exporters began sending out shipments from its previously shuttered Forcados terminal.
"The biggest problem OPEC is facing is the return of oil from Libya and Nigeria, and accommodating them," said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston. "It just means there's more oil on the market."
