LONDON, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Crude oil production from the 12-member OPEC cartel was 110,000 barrels per day lower in August than it was in July, a survey found.
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are to have their next regular meeting Oct. 14 in Vienna to discuss production quotas. The cartel had attempted to control oil prices by adjusting output, though oil prices have held steady.
A survey from the Platts news service found that OPEC production for August averaged 29.11 million barrels per day, down from the 29.22 million bpd produced in July.
John Kingston, the director of Platts, said a higher level of crude inventories was in part responsible for the decline in production.
"The U.S. Energy Information Administration last week reported the highest-ever level of total U.S. petroleum inventories, and with refining margins in much of the world sliding, it's no surprise that OPEC may have found a little less appetite on the part of its customers for its product," he said in a statement.
The averages reported by Platts don't include production in Iraq, which doesn't conform to OPEC production quotas.
