Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Nigeria and Kazakhstan all add significant volumes as core OPEC-9 feels the strain of compliance
Even before OPEC+ officially announced it was opening the spigot by unwinding cuts gradually from April, the group had been exceeding its official allocations. According to Petroleum Economist’s estimates, OPEC-9’s compliance with cuts fell to around 98% in February as the group boosted its output by 80,000b/d compared with January production.
Iran and Venezuela also maximised their supply ahead of US President Donald Trump’s shifting policy towards them. Among OPEC+ producers, Kazakhstan ramped up its production as more oil came from the Tengiz oilfield. Trump told OPEC+ members in his January World Economic Forum speech to “bring down the oil price” by increasing supply.
98% – OPEC-9
