OPEC oil output rises in June: survey

By Alex Lawler

LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC oil supply rose in June as higher output from several members of the group offset cutbacks in Nigeria caused by militant attacks on the oil industry, a Reuters survey showed on Wednesday.

Supply from the 11 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries bound by output targets rose to 26.02 million barrels per day (bpd) from 25.91 million bpd in May, the survey of oil firms, OPEC officials and analysts found.

The survey suggests OPEC has made 72 percent of promised supply cutbacks, down from 75 percent in May, and comes as oil prices have risen to $71 a barrel from a low below $33 in December. Higher output implies OPEC's aim of reducing oil stocks in industrialized countries will take more time.

"Compliance has slipped from the peaks it reached in March," said Harry Tchilinguirian, analyst at BNP Paribas. "That will mean that the decline in OECD inventories as a result of OPEC supply cuts will be longer in the making given weak oil demand."

OPEC has agreed to cut supply by 4.2 million bpd since September as the economic crisis eroded demand. The group agreed to maintain its output ceiling at a meeting on May 28 and said it was urging members to maintain compliance.

Supply was 1.18 million bpd higher in June than the implied target for the OPEC 11 of 24.84 million bpd, according to the survey, meaning the group lowered output by 3.02 million bpd of the promised curbs.

"Output is rising slightly, but compliance is still quite remarkable by historical standards," said an oil executive, recalling less-successful agreements by the group in the 1990s to limit output.

June and May's compliance is down from 81 percent in April and March, when adherence looks to have peaked according to Reuters estimates. OPEC's historical average compliance is 60 percent according to the International Energy Agency.

Oil rose on Wednesday, in part because of the Nigerian output disruptions. U.S. crude was up $1.05 a barrel at $70.94 as of 8:02 a.m. EDT.

NIGERIA

Output would have risen in Nigeria, traditionally Africa's top exporter, without attacks on the country's oil industry.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) militant group has carried out a wave of attacks since May, mostly in the western Niger Delta, hitting facilities belonging to Shell (RDSa.L), Chevron (CVX.N) and Agip (ENI.MI).

Output in Nigeria averaged 1.73 million bpd during June, a drop of 60,000 bpd from May according to the survey. Exports in June had been scheduled at 1.83 million bpd.

Elsewhere in the group, several countries raised supplies including Angola, holder of the OPEC presidency this year.

Angola exported 1.79 million bpd in June, the survey found, more than either of the figures cited as its OPEC output target. Preliminary programs suggest a further rise in July.