Opec+ compliance rises to 122pc in December: delegates

The Opec+ group was 122pc compliant with its crude production restraint commitments in December, which is up compared with 117pc in November, two delegates said.

December compliance among Opec members rose further, to 127pc in December compared with 122pc in November. Non-Opec conformity also increased, to 114pc last month from 107pc in November.

In comparison, an Argus survey showed Opec+ compliance at 117pc in December, with the 10 Opec countries that accepted a quota recording a 121pc rate, while their non-Opec counterparts hit 110pc conformity over the period.

The higher Opec+ conformity suggests a widening gap between the group's rising individual production targets and the members' ability to deliver output hikes.

Earlier this week, Paris-based energy watchdog the IEA signalled that the Opec+ group's intentions to lift output by 4.4mn b/d this year could see the coalition's effective spare capacity down to just 2.6mn b/d in the second half of this year.

The Opec+ alliance will next meet on 2 February to discuss its monthly production strategy for March. So far, the group has pressed ahead with 400,000 b/d monthly output increases, in an effort to complete unwinding of its remaining output cuts by the end of this year.

By Ruxandra Iordache