Crude oil production among members of OPEC has this year collapsed to a generational low, at just 16.13 million barrels daily, Reuters reported, citing a regular survey it conducts on OPEC production. The amount is the lowest since 2000, the publication noted.
The May average is also lower than OPEC production at the height of the Covid lockdowns, when the reduction was prompted by the collapse in demand as a result of the lockdowns. It is worth noting, however, that the May OPEC figure excludes the UAE, which left the group as of the first of that month.
Iran suffered the greatest loss of production, according to the Reuters survey, with exports falling to the lowest in six years as a result of the U.S. naval blockade in response to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The closure, in turn, affected other Gulf states’ production.
Iraq, OPEC’s number-two in terms of output, saw production from its southern fields plunge by 70% since the start of the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran, with the average production at 1.3 million barrels per day, compared with 4.3 million bpd before the war began.
Venezuela and Nigeria, on the other hand, saw their production increase thanks to their distance from the hostilities in the Middle East. Venezuela exported an estimated 1.25 million barrels per day in May, up by 0.7% compared to April’s 1.23 million bpd exports and a massive 61% jump compared to May 2025. Nigeria saw its oil and condensate production hit 1.66 million barrels per day in May, with crude alone rising to 1.49 million barrels daily, just shy of its OPEC+ production quota.
OPEC+ earlier this month upped its collective production quota by 188,000 barrels daily for July, making the total in quota additions since April 600,000 barrels daily. This, however, is only paper production. Actual production remains constrained by the war.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
