Global crude oil production declined by 1% last year, for the first time since 2020, averaging 72.58 million barrels daily, OPEC said in the latest edition of its Annual Statistical Bulletin.
The group reported a decline in OPEC and partner production while non-OPEC oil producers boosted output last year, in line with analyst predictions and relatively healthy oil prices. Among OPEC members, production dipped by 2.1%, equal to 570,000 barrels daily. Among countries that are members of the Declaration of Cooperation, oil production declined by 780,000 barrels daily, or 5.2%.
The Declaration of Cooperation, signed originally in 2016, features oil states including Oman, Brunei, Mexico, Malaysia, and the Central Asian oil producers that are now also part of OPEC+ with Russia.
Even with a dip, however, total global oil production was substantially lower than demand, which OPEC said averaged 103.84 million barrels daily last year. The figure represented an increase of 1.5% from the previous year, an amount equal to 1.49 million barrels daily.
Demand grew across almost all regions, OPEC also said in its statistical bulletin, including Europe, which has been trying hard to reduce its consumption of hydrocarbons. As part of these attempts, Europe has been shrinking its refining capacity but elsewhere, new capacity is coming on stream. This pushed the global total to 103.80 million barrels daily last year, according to OPEC, with new additions at 1.04 million barrels daily. All of that new capacity was added in China, India, and the Middle East.
Separately, OPEC reported that its oil exports had declined by some 70,000 barrels daily on average in 2024, to stand at 19.01 million barrels daily. Most of this, or 13.67 million barrels daily, went to Asia, while another 3.34 million barrels daily went to Europe, OPEC also said.
The world’s proven oil reserves inched by 0.1% to 1.567 trillion barrels as of last year, the group also reported, adding that proven reserves among OPEC members remained unchanged at 1.241 trillion barrels.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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