OPEC daily oil production drops sharply in April: Platts survey

NEW YORK (Thomson Financial) - The 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped an average 31.9 million barrels of crude oil per day in April, according to a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials released Friday.

That marks a decrease of 350,000 barrels per day from March levels.

The sharp drop was largely the result of steep output losses in Nigeria, the survey said.

Excluding Iraq, the 12 members which participate in output agreements pumped an average 29.5 million barrels per day, down 360,000 barrels per day from March.

"OPEC production has been relatively steady in recent months, but the sharp fall in Nigerian output shows how vulnerable overall supply from the group can be to developments in one country," said John Kingston, Platts global director of oil. "Given that spare capacity is also relatively tight, any disruption has a bigger impact on markets." The survey said ongoing losses in Nigerian supply as a result of continuing strife in the Niger Delta were exacerbated by a week-long pay strike at Exxon Mobil Corp.

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