OPEC sales in retreat

Bloomberg/Fuel fix:

OPEC, excluding Iran, made $982 billion from exporting oil in 2012, the most in 38 years of data, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported today. It forecast that sales will drop in 2013 and 2014.

Net oil-export revenue by the 12-member organization climbed 5.4 percent last year from 2011, according to the EIA, the Energy Department’s statistical arm. Sales will tumble by 4.3 percent to $940 billion this year and by 3.9 percent to $903 billion next year, the agency said.

Still king: Saudi Arabia remains key to oil prices, despite U.S. production surge

Demand for OPEC’s crude will slip by 300,000 barrels a day next year to 29.6 million barrels, or 2.6 percent less than the group is pumping now, OPEC said July 10 in its first set of forecasts for 2013. Exports to North America face growing competition from a surge in production from shale basins in the U.S. and Canada. U.S. crude output reached 7.35 million barrels a day at the end of April, up 17 percent from a year earlier.
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Iran wasn’t included because of “the difficulties associated with estimating Iran’s earnings, including its inability to receive payments and possible price discounts Iran offers its existing customers,” the EIA said.
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US production has made Iran production irrelevant to the marketplace.  The Saudis are also making up any missing production with our European allies.  If Iran were actually in the market, it is likely that OPEC pricing would be in a big decline.