Kuwait Oil Production Surges Amid OPEC+ Output Reversal

Kuwait's oil production has surged to its highest level in months, according to unnamed sources cited by Reuters. The country produced 1.971 million barrels of crude oil daily in July, a significant increase from June's 1.65 million barrels and May's meager 580,000 barrels.

This news comes as OPEC+ is unwinding its production cuts agreed upon in 2023 to balance the market in favor of member states. The group has been gradually increasing output since spring, but the Strait of Hormuz blockade has prevented normal crude oil flows out of the Gulf states.

Despite some tanker traffic being reported, security concerns in the Persian Gulf remain high, with Saudi Arabia forced to reroute its exports twice due to Yemeni Houthi attacks. Kazakhstan is also struggling to boost production, with oil flows via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium conduit repeatedly suspended due to Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

OPEC+ has set a new target of boosting production by another 188,000 barrels daily from September, which would theoretically increase output by 1.65 million barrels daily compared to 2023 levels.