The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped less crude oil in April, a survey by Dow Jones Newswires showed Tuesday, as Nigeria's production suffered from sabotage and strikes, pushing oil prices to just above $120 a barrel.
The survey estimates daily production in April by all 13 of the group's members dropped 0.49%, or 160,000 barrels, from the previous month to 31.97 million barrels.
Production by the group's 12 members with output quotas decreased 110,000 barrels a day, or 0.37%, last month to 29.74 million barrels a day, the survey shows.
"The decrease in OPEC crude output can mainly be attributed to Nigeria, which saw the biggest month-on-month change," said Ehsan Ul Haq, head of research at Vienna-based JBC Energy.
Nigeria's production suffered from an attack on a pipeline that feeds into Royal Dutch Shell PLC's (RDSA) Bonny Light crude oil terminal and a strike at an ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM) subsidiary, knocking off as much as 120,000 barrels a day in April, according to the survey.
Output in Africa's biggest oil-producing country averaged about 1.9 million barrels a day in April, the same level at which Angola was pumping, the survey shows.
The drop in OPEC output in April was also the result of lower production from Iraq, which pumped at 2.23 million barrels a day, down from a daily average of 2.28 million barrels a month earlier.
"Iraqi production declined due to problems on the southern route," Ul Haq said.
Iraq is the only country outside OPEC's quota system.
Production in Saudi Arabia, OPEC's largest producer, and Iran, the group's number two, declined marginally in anticipation of lower crude demand from major consumers in the second quarter, which traditionally sees milder weather.
Saudi Arabia produced 9.1 million barrels a day, while Iran pumped at 3.99 million barrels a day in April, the survey shows.
The latest numbers, based on input from oil traders, analysts and industry sources, show the OPEC-12 in April produced only about 67,000 barrels a day above the group's production target of 29.67 million barrels effective since Nov. 1.
The 13-nation group, whose output meets around 40% of the 87 million barrels consumed globally each day, has repeatedly rebuffed consuming nation calls for more production, saying high oil prices are unrelated to supply and are due to factors like the weak U.S. dollar and speculation.
Crude hit an all-time high of $120.54 a barrel Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The head of the Paris-based International Energy Agency, Nobuo Tanaka, at a conference in Rome on April 21 said fundamental factors like tight crude supplies and vibrant demand in China and other emerging markets are the main factors driving record oil prices, not speculative trading.
OPEC's next meeting is scheduled to take place in Vienna on Sept. 9.