Crude oil production of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) fell in September to its lowest monthly average level in 10 years, according to data obtained by Anadolu Agency from OPEC on Thursday.
'OPEC crude oil production, based on secondary sources, fell to 28.49 million barrels per day (bpd) in September -- the lowest level since February 2009,' OPEC said in an e-mail.
'Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s production for September fell to 8.56 million bpd -- the lowest level since May 2007,' it added.
The main reason behind the decline was the drone attacks on OPEC heavyweight Saudi Arabia on Sept. 14, which knocked out 5.7 million bpd of the country's output.
The kingdom gradually restored the lost output, which was equal to almost 6% of global oil production.
Yet, production decline in other OPEC members also contributed to the organization's crude output falling to its lowest level in a decade.
With struggles in its economy and oil industry, Venezuela, the world's largest oil reserve holder, saw its crude production decline by 46% to 644,000 bpd in September 2019, from 1.2 million bpd in September 2018, according to OPEC data.
After the U.S. re-imposed sanctions on Iran in November 2018, the country's crude output fell to 2.16 million bpd from 3.45 million bpd during that period, to mark a 37% fall, OPEC figures showed.
- US shale fills gap
Global oil production decreased slightly year-over-year to average 99.3 million bpd in September 2019, from 100.3 million bpd in September 2018, according to data from the International Energy Agency.
During that period, however, OPEC's crude oil production declined more dramatically to 28.49 million bpd, from 32.76 million bpd, posting a 4.27 million bpd, or 13%, loss, according to OPEC's Monthly Oil Market reports.
The world's second largest crude oil producer, Russia, saw its crude output fall marginally to 11.24 million bpd, from 11.36 million bpd year-over-year.
Some of the supply gap left by OPEC's reduced output was filled by U.S. shale oil over that period.
The U.S.' crude oil production rose to 12.5 million bpd in September 2019, from 11.5 million bpd in September 2018, marking a 1 million bpd, or 8.7% increase, according to the country's Energy Information Administration (EIA).
U.S. crude oil production reached a new record high level of 12.6 million bpd for the week ending Oct. 4, the EIA data showed.
The shale oil revolution, which started in 2008, launched the U.S. to the top spot as the world's largest crude oil producer late last year.
By Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr