OPEC members earned about $570 billion in net oil export revenue last year.
That’s what the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates, according to a new fact sheet by the organization, which noted that OPEC’s 2021 net revenue is a 78 percent increase from 2020, when this figure is said to have totaled an estimated $320 billion.
“The increase in net export revenue in 2021 can be attributed to a combination of increased OPEC production and higher crude oil prices during the year,” the EIA stated in the fact sheet.
“In 2021, OPEC increased production as OPEC+ production targets rose; total liquids production among all OPEC producers rose to 31.7 million barrels per day in 2021 from 30.7 million bpd in 2020. Crude oil prices also rose as global oil consumption outpaced oil production, resulting in persistent withdrawals from global oil inventories,” the EIA added in the fact sheet.
“The increase in oil consumption in 2021 occurred as economic activity increased and the global economy began to return to pre-Covid-19 conditions,” the EIA continued.
In the fact sheet, the EIA estimated that Saudi Arabia’s net export revenue was the highest among OPEC members in 2021 at $184 billion. Iraq was listed as having the second highest, at $83 billion, and the UAE was listed as having the third highest, at $75 billion.
Looking ahead to 2022, the EIA fact sheet forecasts that OPEC net oil export revenue will increase to $907 billion. This increase is attributable to an increase in crude oil and other liquids production by OPEC along with an increase in crude oil prices, the EIA noted in the fact sheet, which lists Saudi Arabia’s projected revenue in 2022 as the highest, at $304 billion. Iraq is again listed second, with $131 billion, and the UAE is again third, with $125 billion.
In 2023, the EIA fact sheet expects that OPEC net export revenue will decrease to $835 billion.
“We forecast that global crude oil prices will decrease in 2023, reflecting global oil inventories that began to build in the second quarter of 2022 and that will continue to build through much of 2023,” the fact sheet states.
Saudi Arabia is projected to have the highest net oil export revenue in 2023 at $266 billion, followed by Iraq and the UAE in joint second, with $120 billion each.
At its latest meeting, which was held on August 31, OPEC+ decided to adjust its production level up by 100,000 barrels per day for the month of September. At OPEC+’s previous meeting, which was held on June 30, the group reconfirmed a decision to adjust its production level up by 648,000 barrels per day in August. OPEC+’s next meeting is currently scheduled to take place on September 5.
OPEC is made up of 13 countries, comprising Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Venezuela. The OPEC+ group includes countries such as Russia, Mexico, and Kazakhstan.
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