OPEC boosts oil income in 2021, well completions drop
By Alex Lawler
LONDON (Reuters) – OPEC’s oil income surged in 2021 as costs and demand recovered from the worst of the COVID pandemic, whereas the variety of its members’ energetic rigs posted a modest rebound and new accomplished wells declined, knowledge from the group confirmed.
The worth of petroleum exports by the 13-member Group of the Petroleum Exporting Nations reached $561 billion in 2021, up 77% from 2020, OPEC’s Annual Statistical Bulletin revealed on Tuesday confirmed.
As OPEC raised output in 2021, the variety of energetic oil rigs in OPEC members rose by 11% to 489, a smaller enhance than that seen worldwide. Prime exporter Saudi Arabia added 6 rigs to 65 in 2021, though the entire was under the 2019 stage.
OPEC and its allies, often called OPEC+, have been struggling to spice up output in step with targets, reflecting under-investment by some members in drilling and exploration. The shortfall is among the causes oil costs have soared in 2022.
The variety of accomplished wells – the method of constructing a nicely prepared for manufacturing, one other metric OPEC tracks – within the group’s members declined final yr to 1,588, a drop of 280 from 2020 and the bottom since a minimum of 2017.
Effectively completions dropped in all OPEC members besides Libya, Venezuela, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Iran, in response to OPEC’s report. Against this, the worldwide variety of accomplished wells elevated final yr.
(Reporting by Alex Lawler; Modifying by Jan Harvey)
