Oil Daily | OPEC Steady in July, Russia Slows Drilling, Trans Mountain Pipeline Triples Capacity

**Global Oil Supply and Demand**

OPEC maintained steady oil production in July, averaging 26.99 million barrels per day—a slight decrease of 60,000 bpd from June levels. Venezuela and Iran accounted for most of the decline, with both countries experiencing decreased demand from China.

OPEC and its allies held a monitoring meeting as the group plans to gradually unwind production cuts starting in Q4, depending on market conditions. Despite geopolitical tensions, crude futures have declined, challenging OPEC nations like Saudi Arabia, which maintained its output at 9 million bpd in July.

Iraq and the UAE exceeded their production limits in July. Iraq increased its output by 30,000 bpd to 4.28 million bpd. Russia, Kazakhstan, and Iraq pledged additional cuts to compensate for their chronic overproduction.

Venezuela and Iran saw the largest declines in July. Venezuela's output dropped by 60,000 bpd to 830,000 bpd, and Iran's production fell by 50,000 bpd to 3.26 million bpd due to reduced demand from China.

Bloomberg's analysis is based on ship-tracking data, information from officials, and estimates from consultants, including FGE, Kpler Ltd., and Rapidan Energy Group.

**Oil-Producing Countries Dynamics**

Russia's oil industry has slowed drilling activity this year from the record highs seen in 2023 as part of the OPEC deal. In the first half of 2024, Russian companies drilled 14,370 kilometers of production wells, down by 2.5% compared to January-June 2023. Russia is working to comply with its OPEC production quota.

**Industry News**

The expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, which entered into service in May, has tripled capacity to 890,000 barrels per day from 300,000 bpd, carrying crude from Alberta's oil sands to British Columbia on the Pacific Coast.

**Company News**

Canadian producer Imperial Oil saw its net profit soar by 68% in the second quarter from year-ago levels, driven by the highest second-quarter production in over 30 years and narrowing Canadian crude price discounts to the U.S. benchmark.

ExxonMobil is delaying the start-up of its joint venture Golden Pass LNG export project in Texas to late 2025 from the first half of next year due to the bankruptcy of lead contractor Zachry Holdings.

ExxonMobil beat Wall Street estimates with the second-highest earnings for the second quarter in a decade, driven by the acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources and record quarterly production. The $60-billion Pioneer acquisition contributed $500 million to earnings.