Oil production in OPEC countries continues to grow. According to the International Energy Agency, the absolute leaders in this indicator are Saudi Arabia, Libya and Iraq. However, with an increase in prices for “black gold”, huge volumes of exports may not be in demand, according to Kommersant FM’s interlocutors.

Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Libya set a record for oil production in March. Such data are provided in the report of the International Energy Agency. The average daily production of these three countries amounted to 890 thousand barrels. In March, oil production by OPEC members exceeded 31 million barrels per day.

In March, Saudi Arabia produced more than 10 million barrels of oil per day. In February, this figure barely exceeded 9.7 million barrels. Iraq last month increased its daily output by 34 thousand barrels to 3.67 million barrels per day. Libya set a record for production growth in March - on average, the country pumped out 480 thousand barrels of oil per day. In February, this figure was one and a half times less.

Rising oil production in the Middle East means OPEC members continue to defend their market share, IEA experts say. The sharp increase in production in March is associated with a change in the situation in Libya. In addition, demand for raw materials in Asia increased last month, says Alexander Frolov, Deputy General Director of the Institute of National Energy.

“The main story should be in Libya. Starting from the end of last year, confrontations between various factions in Libya escalated, and oil production suffered as a result, that is, there was some kind of correction at the expense of Libya, now this correction has ended. As for other OPEC countries, first of all, Saudi Arabia and the strong OPEC countries that have joined it are now trying to gain a foothold and expand their influence on the Chinese market and other growing markets in the Asian region. This is probably why they also increased production,” Frolov told Kommersant FM.

According to the International Energy Agency, a recovery in oil demand was recorded in the first quarter. Experts expect that this year the figure will increase by 90 thousand barrels per day and reach 93.5 million barrels per day. Now there are no prerequisites for a significant increase in the consumption of raw materials, Eldar Kasaev, a member of the expert council of the Union of Oil and Gas Industrialists of Russia, is sure.

“Demand is associated with low prices, this is always the case. Moreover, in the United States an even greater slowdown in production is predicted, little by little they are also faced with the fact that low prices make development in the United States unprofitable, and with a time lag there will, of course, also be a decrease “But this will not continue indefinitely. It is possible that in the second half of the year we will see a different picture: if oil prices rise, then demand may slow down, and the average may well not reach the level that the IEA is now talking about,” - Kasaev noted.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, the growth in production from shale fields in the country will almost cease in April. Compared to March, the net increase will be only 1 thousand barrels per day. The figure could be the lowest since the beginning of 2011, Bloomberg reports.

Yulia Bezrukova

“If oil prices rise, demand may not reach expected levels.”