UAE: UAE crude output stays soft in June; Brent prices stable
Brent crude oil prices averaged USD 82.92 per barrel in June, down 0.2% from May. On 28 June, the commodity traded at USD 86.43 per barrel, up 5.7% from 31 May. Prices dipped early in the month on OPEC+’s June decision to wind back output cuts from October, before rising due to increasing Israel-Hezbollah tensions.
Turning to production, in June, UAE oil output fell slightly to 2.92 mbpd (million barrels per day), from 2.94 mbpd in May, remaining at one of the lowest levels since late 2021.
The UAE’s oil output shrank last year, and should remain downbeat in 2024; although OPEC+ agreed last year to boost the UAE’s quota this year by 0.20 mbpd, the UAE has trimmed output by 0.16 mbpd since January as part of voluntary cuts that will only gradually be undone from October.
More positively, on 2 June, OPEC+ said it would gradually raise the UAE’s quota by 0.3 mbpd from January 2025 to September 2025, boding well for crude output in that year.