OPEC oil output hits one-year high in August on Nigeria

OPEC crude oil production increased to a one-year high in August, led by surging output in Nigeria, a Bloomberg survey showed.

Production by the 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries rose by 891,000 barrels a day to 31.033 million, according to the survey of oil companies, producers and analysts. Last month’s total was revised 80,000 barrels a day lower to 30.142 million because of changes to the Nigerian and Iranian estimates.

Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Angola led gains as new deposits came online, security improved and field maintenance programs ended. Iran and Venezuela were the only members to record production declines this month.

“They are letting it rip,” John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that focuses on energy, said by phone. “The geopolitical scares out there have supported the market but any resolution would remove that. We’re heading for a definite downtrend in prices if these volumes hold up.”

Nigeria’s production climbed 380,000 barrels a day to 2.3 million in August, the most since January 2006. It was the biggest one-month gain in data going back to 1989.