RIYADH, Dec 12: Cumulative crude production by the 12 members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) rose to 31.15 million barrels per day in November as compared to 31.11 million bpd in October, a market review revealed.

This is up 40,000 bpd from last month as higher volumes from Saudi Arabia and Iraq helped offset a large field maintenance-related drop in UAE output. The increase in output coincided with the announced half a million barrels output increase as announced by the Opec from Nov 1.

Excluding Iraq and Angola, the 10 Opec members bound by new output allocations which came into effect at the beginning of November, pumped 26.97 million bpd, down 110,000 bpd from October’s 27.08 million bpd. Most members increased their output in November. Iran and Kuwait boosted output by around 50,000 bpd and Angola by 30,000 bpd, with smaller increases of around 10,000 bpd coming from Algeria, Libya, Nigeria and Qatar. Saudi Arabia, one of Opec’s key producers, pumped an average 9 million bpd during the month, up 200,000 b/d from recent production levels.

Iraq’s output also went up by120, 000 bpd in November as compared to 2.4 million bpd in October, the highest since the 2003 war.

Field maintenance that affected UAE production was already weighing on the demand-supply equation beforehand. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) had signalled the likely November shutdown for carrying out regular maintenance work at its Upper Zakum, Lower Zakum and Umm Shaif offshore oil fields in advance, saying in September that it had worked with its customers to ensure minimum disruption by advancing the majority of exports. As a result, total UAE output fell to 2.15 million bpd in November, down from an average of 2.6 million bpd in October.

Opec ministers, who met in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 5, decided to maintain current output limits set at 27.253 million bpd for the Opec-10. They have decided to meet again in Vienna on Feb 1, 2008, so as to discuss market developments in the meantime.

During the ministerial meeting Opec also assigned output allocations of 1.9 million bpd to Angola, which joined Opec last January, and 520,000 bpd to Ecuador which resumed its Opec membership at Opec’s November 17-18 heads of state summit in the Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Including these two countries, Opec’s output target is set to rise to 29.673 million bpd in January 2008.