23 June 2006, 16:15  OPEC June Output At 29.7 Million B/D

Petrologistics estimates output from OPEC's heavyweight producer Saudi Arabia rose to just under 9.1 million b/d in June, up from 9 million b/d in May. The kingdom has been limiting supplies from April because of weak demand and its unwillingness to further discount crude. "It is an incremental rise and just shows things are stable. We could expect something more in July," said Conrad Gerber, president of Petrologistics. Gerber also said Iran increased its output in June to 3.8 million b/d from 3.6 million b/d in May. Iran, OPEC's number two producer, is also believed to have been limiting its supplies so as not to be forced to sell its crude at a steeper discount. "The Iranians simply won't discount their crude," said Gerber. He said Iran currently is storing around 20 million barrels of its crude on its fleet of tankers to avoid cutting the price on the international market. Iraq produced 1.9 million b/d in June, about 50,000 b/d lower than its May figure, Gerber said.

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