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OPEC's April oil production is lower despite plans to increase, survey finds

A survey shows that OPEC's oil production fell in April despite a planned increase in output. This was due to a reduction in Venezuelan supplies in response to renewed U.S. efforts to reduce the flow of oil and smaller drops in Iraq, Libya, and Libya.

According to a survey released on Thursday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) produced 26.60 millions barrels of oil per day in March, a decrease of 30,000 barrels per days from the total for the month of March. This was due to a reduction by some producers, which was offset by an increase in Iranian production.

The reduction is despite OPEC+ (which includes OPEC, its allies, including Russia), which began in April to undo its most recent layer output cuts. The group intends to increase production in May and/or June, citing market fundamentals like low inventories.

The extent of this increase will partly depend on the impact of President Donald Trump's attempts to restrict supply from Iran and Venezuela.

Venezuela's exports dropped the most in April, as cancellations of cargoes by U.S. oil giant Chevron prompted ships to return.

The survey also found that Iraq, which is under increasing pressure to comply with OPEC+ production quotas and curtail output, has also reduced output.

Despite higher OPEC+ quotas in April, there was not much change in the output of Saudi Arabia and Gulf member countries United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

The OPEC secondary sources' survey and data from March show that the UAE and Iraq pump close to their quotas. However, other estimates such as the International Energy Agency suggest that they pump significantly more.

The survey showed that Iran was the country with the largest increase in exports, while the U.S.'s latest measures had little effect on production.

The survey aims at tracking supply on the market. It is based upon data provided by LSEG (a financial group), information from companies that track flow such as Kpler and information provided from sources within oil companies, OPEC, and consultants. (Also by Ahmad Ghaddar, Kirsten Donovan edited this article)

(source: Reuters)