OPEC’s crude oil production fell in January to an average of about 28.83 million barrels per day, down roughly 230,000 bpd from the previous month, a Bloomberg survey showed on Wednesday.
The decline was driven in part by turmoil in Venezuela, where export flows were sharply curtailed amid a U.S. naval blockade on sanctioned tankers and broader disruption of shipments, which weighed on the OPEC member’s output and shipments.
Venezuelan crude exports plunged to multi-year lows in early January as isolation of tankers and limited export licences restricted deliveries to traditional markets such as China, contributing to the overall drop in group output.
Other OPEC members also edged production lower, with the United Arab Emirates and Iraq among those modestly cutting output as part of a coordinated three-month supply freeze aimed at balancing slower seasonal demand.
The production freeze was agreed by OPEC+ the cartel and its allies as they seek to support oil prices amid geopolitical uncertainty and a global market surplus, analysts said.
Oil prices have remained elevated this year in part due to supply restraint, tensions involving Iran and disruptions in Kazakhstan, even as forecasts warn of persistent oversupply in the first quarter.
OPEC+ delegates, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, have ratified the current output pause and are scheduled to meet online on March 1 to consider production policy for the coming months.
While some policymakers expect oil demand to strengthen from March or April, uncertainty remains over the group’s ability to rebalance markets.
The January output drop underscores ongoing challenges in aligning production with market conditions, particularly as geopolitical tensions and sanctions regimes continue to reshape global oil flows.