Crude output from OPEC, excluding Iraq, is estimated at 25.8 million barrels per day for February, largely unchanged from January, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday. It said the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' agreement on February 10 to stop immediately 1.5 million bpd of production above official quotas came too late to have an impact on February commitments. February production from the 10 OPEC members with quotas was 1.3 million bpd above OPEC's November output target and is 2.3 million bpd higher than the new April 1 target. For January, total OPEC crude supply was revised upwards by 30,000 bpd as higher Iranian and Saudi Arabian oil supply offset downward revisions for the United Arab Emirates, Libya and Venezuela, the IEA said in its monthly report. The February assessment put total OPEC supply at 27.8 million bpd, down 90,000 bpd from January principally because of lower Iraqi output.
The IEA revised upwards its "call" -- or demand -- on OPEC crude for 2003 and 2004 by 100,000 bpd and 300,000 bpd respectively, chiefly because of Asian demand. The call is now put at 26 million bpd for 2003 and 25.8 million bpd in 2004. It reaches a low in the second quarter of 2004 of 23.9 million bpd before rising to 27.2 million bpd by the end of the year. World oil supply in February reached 82 million bpd, up 60,000 bpd from January.///www..com