PARIS, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- North American oil production helped offset declines from non-OPEC and OPEC members alike, the International Energy Agency said Thursday.
The IEA, an agency based in Paris, said crude oil supplies from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries declined 260,000 barrels per day to 30.5 million bpd. It said an increase in production from Saudi Arabia only partially offset major declines from Libya.
"For the full third quarter, non‐OPEC production is expected to rise by 520,000 barrels per day quarter-on-quarter as a seasonal decline in the North Sea is more than made up for by North American growth and steady production elsewhere," it said.
The U.S. Energy Department said this week supply disruptions from Libya, tensions over Syria and maintenance at installations operating in the North Sea caused problems for oil markets.
U.S. crude oil production, meanwhile, rose to its highest monthly level since 1989 with an average of 7.6 million barrels per day for August.
The Energy Department said U.S. crude oil production should reach 8.4 million bpd by next year.
Despite the situation in Libya, where production is well below its peak of 1.6 million bpd, OPEC in its monthly report said the oil markets are "well supplied."
