OPEC REMAINS HARD

PLATTS - OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo on Tuesday urged members of the producer group and its 10 allies "to remain firm in achieving" their output cut goals.

The comments come after reports of a lack of compliance with targets by some of the agreement's key oil producers - notably Russia, Iraq and Nigeria.

Barkindo acknowledged that initial production and supply data from the 24 participating countries showed "various levels of conformity" and urged them to implements these cuts "in full, and in timely fashion."

"No one party can perform the role of a 'swing producer'," he added in a statement.

At the last OPEC meeting in Vienna, the group's members agreed to slash output by 812,000 b/d, with Russia and nine other non-OPEC allies committing to a cut of 383,000 b/d for the first six months of 2019.

Barkindo singled out Saudi Arabia, which he said has "adjusted its supply by more than the required levels."

Saudi Arabia self-reported January production of 10.24 million b/d, its lowest monthly average since May 2018 and below its quota of 10.31 million b/d under the cut agreement.

Saudi Arabia has decreased its production by 850,000 b/d since November, when it pumped a record high 11.09 million b/d.

"Our primary objective is to ensure that the oil market remains in balance throughout 2019 and beyond in order to build on the success of the past couple of years," added Barkindo.

OPEC's 14 members pumped 30.81 million b/d in January, down from 31.60 million b/d in December, according to the secondary sources used to measure the group's output.

RUSSIAN NON-COMPLIANCE

Russia's compliance has not been up to the expected level, according to the data.

Russia produced 48.113 million mt, or 11.376 million b/d in January, still 185,000 b/d above its output quota of 11.19 million b/d, the data show.

Igor Sechin, the CEO of Russian oil giant Rosneft, recently criticized the agreement in a letter to President Vladimir Putin, describing it as a strategic threat to the Russian oil industry.

Sechin said in the letter that the supply cuts with OPEC play into the hands of the US, which has emerged as the world's largest oil producer.

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Earlier: 

2019, February, 13, 12:15:00 OPEC OIL PRODUCTION 30.81 MBD PLATTS - OPEC has painted a bearish picture for 2019, with demand for its crude oil expected to fall due to weak demand growth and a sharp rise in output from producers outside the group.

2019, February, 13, 12:10:00 OPEC ISN'T A CARTEL REUTERS - OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said the exporting group was not in the business of fixing oil prices, when asked on Monday to comment on a U.S. House committee passing a bill targeting OPEC oil supply cuts.

2019, February, 8, 12:10:00 OPEC PRODUCTION DOWN 970 TBD PLATTS - OPEC pumped the fewest barrels since March 2015 in January, with crude output plunging to 30.86 million b/d, a fall of 970,000 b/d from December as new supply quotas went into force, according to an S&P Global Platts survey of industry officials, analysts and shipping data.

2019, February, 1, 11:35:00 OIL MARKET IS CALM PLATTS- Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said Wednesday that he does not currently see a need to take any extra measures or call for an extra meeting by the OPEC/non-OPEC group over the crisis in Venezuela. "We haven't discussed the situation with [Saudi energy] minister Falih, or other ministers," Novak told reporters. "The markets are currently calm ... and the volatility is insignificant. So there is no need for the extra meeting of OPEC+, at least the Russian side thinks so."

2019, January, 21, 11:50:00 OPEC CONFORMITY LEVEL 98% OPEC - The JMMC calls on all participating countries of the ‘Declaration of Cooperation’ to redouble their efforts in the full and timely implementation of the supply adjustments to ensure that the oil market remains in balance in 2019.

2019, January, 18, 10:45:00 OPEC PRODUCTION DOWN 751 TBD REUTERS - The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in a monthly report that its oil output fell by 751,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December to 31.58 million bpd, the biggest month-on-month drop in almost two years.

2019, January, 16, 11:20:00 OIL MARKET BALANCE REUTERS - “If we look beyond the noise of weekly data and speculators’ herd-like behavior, I remain convinced that we’re on the right track, and that the oil market will quickly return to balance,” said Falih, addressing an oil conference in Abu Dhabi.