1. OPEC Exports Underwhelm Despite High Prices Source: Kpler. – The Russia-Ukraine war has taken OPEC heavyweights out of the public limelight, somewhat concealing the fact that the 400,000 b/d monthly increments of OPEC+ routinely end up underproduced. – Saudi Arabia is the only major OPEC producer to pull off a tangible export hike over the past months – in February outflows jumped to 7.15 million b/d – however with Iraq and Kuwait faltering, the net effect has been lower than assumed. – Hence, OPEC producers could enjoy high prices with a limited effort to boost production, not risking their spare production capacity – arguably the reason why OPEC told the EU not to ban Russian oil from the markets. – Iraq is a peculiar case in point, with its exports stagnating for four months already at 3.2 million b/d and production set to decline this month, coming on […]