OPEC crude production falls in September

OPEC crude production plummeted to 29.7 million b/d in September from
30.4 million b/d in August, a drop of 700,000 b/d, the US Energy Information
Administration estimated Tuesday.
     Iraq accounted for the biggest single drop in production, its output
falling by 450,000 b/d to 2.8 million b/d in September from 3.25 million b/d
in August, the EIA said.
     Platts reported on October 1 that maintenance work on key Iraqi oil
export infrastructure in the south resulted in a the country's crude exports
dropping by more than 500,000 b/d in September.
     Production fell further in Libya, where ongoing strikes and protests at
oil facilities have slashed production. The EIA, which pegged Libyan output at
1.42 million b/d in May, said production had dropped to just 380,000 b/d in
September from 590,000 b/d in August.
     OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia reined in production to 10.1 million b/d in
September from 10.2 million b/d in August, the EIA said.
     Angola and Nigeria saw small output increases. Angola boosted output to
1.72 million b/d in September from 1.68 million b/d in August, an increase of
40,000 b/d. Nigeria increased production by 20,000 b/d to 1.95 million b/d in
September from 1.93 million b/d in August, the EIA estimated.
     Iranian output was unchanged at 2.8 million b/d.