LONDON (Reuters) – OPEC+ compliance with pledged oil output curbs fell to 75% in December, among the lowest levels since the supply pact started in May 2020, tanker tracker Petro-Logistics said on Tuesday.
This is a lower estimate of compliance by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+ than others have reported. A trend of lower compliance could weigh on oil prices, which are currently at an 11-month high.
OPEC+ made a record oil-output cut of 9.7 million barrels per day, about 10% of world output, to support prices which were pushed to historic lows by the coronavirus pandemic. They had tapered the cut to 7.7 million bpd by December.
Petro-Logistics, a Geneva-based consultant, said December compliance by the OPEC members participating in the deal fell to 82%, down 10% from November, with top exporter Saudi Arabia among the nations showing weaker adherence.
“Even Saudi Arabia saw its compliance drop 10% to 92%,” Petro-Logistics said in an email to Reuters.
The non-OPEC countries involved in the pact, of which Russia is by far the largest producer, was even lower at 64%, down 8% from the previous month.
Other estimates have so far found December compliance to be higher.
A Reuters survey found OPEC delivered on 99% of pledged cuts in December. A survey by Platts, one of the sources OPEC uses to track its output, put adherence by OPEC+ at 99%.
Reporting by Alex Lawler; editing by Jason Neely and David Evans
