Global oil supply falls by 1% in May

Global liquids production fell by 1.02 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, averaging 100.20 million bpd, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) most recent monthly oil market report on Tuesday.

The month-on-month supply decreased by 1% in May, down from 101.22 million bpd in April.

Secondary sources showed that total crude oil production from the 13 member countries of the OPEC group, or OPEC-13, averaged 28.06 million bpd in May, 464,000 bpd lower than the previous month.

Crude oil output increased mainly in Nigeria, Iran and Angola, while production in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait declined.

Production in Saudi Arabia fell by 519,000 bpd, followed by the UAE with 140,000 bpd. Output last month rose by 171,000 bpd in Nigeria, 61,000 bpd in Iran and 54,000 bpd in Angola.

The share of OPEC crude oil in total global production decreased by 0.2 percentage points (pp) to stand at 28% in May.

Meanwhile, the global rig count totaled 1,857 in May, a reduction of 32 from April, while OPEC countries accounted for 424 rigs.

-Global oil demand growth forecast remains unchanged for 2023

OPEC kept its forecast for global oil demand growth unchanged for 2023.

The group predicts that oil demand will increase by 2.3 million bpd in 2023 to reach 101.9 million bpd.

Demand for OPEC crude in 2023 also remained unchanged from the previous assessment to stand at 29.3 million bpd, around 0.9 million bpd higher than in 2022.

Minor downward adjustments made to the OECD due to weak performance in the second quarter ‘were offset by minor upward adjustments due to better-than-expected performance in China’s economy, while other regions are expected to see slight declines due to economic challenges that are likely to weigh on oil demand,’ OPEC said.

• Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)