Opec seaborne oil exports, excluding Angola, jumped 609,000 barrels per day (bpd) in September versus August, one of the biggest monthly increases this year, Lloyd's Marine Intelligence Unit (LMIU) data showed on Wednesday.
The consultancy said shipments from 11 Opec members, including Iraq and excluding new member Angola, averaged 23.039 million bpd in September compared with an August monthly average of 22.430 million bpd. The International Energy Agency had said last week that production for the Opec 12 rose 245,000 bpd to reach 30.7 million bpd in September largely due to higher Iraqi output.
Lloyd's, which counts seaborne exports and not Opec production, says it is confident it tracks shipments covering more than 90 percent of the world's tanker fleet, including spot, term charters and exports aboard state-owned fleets.
LMIU said most of the extra supply in the period was heading to Asian consumers from Gulf producers, but added that provisional figures for October showed exports to the US Gulf rising steadily.
Gulf oil takes three weeks to arrive in Asia and between 30 and 35 days to hit US shores depending if tankers use the Suez Canal or navigate round the Cape of Good Hope. The consultancy said exports had risen through the summer months from a slight dip in supply and tighter group compliance to the cuts seen in May and June of this year Despite the jump, the largest since a similar 600,000 bpd jump for the month of April, the September monthly average total was still down on July's total, which averaged 23.284 million bpd.