OPEC’s oil production, market share fall

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) produced less oil in 2013 than they did in 2012, and the cartel’s share of the world oil market also fell, the group said.

The 12 countries in OPEC churned out an average 31.6 million barrels of crude per day last year, a 2.5 percent reduction. The world as a whole saw a 0.1 percent increase in oil production in the same period, to 72.8 million barrels a day.

{mosads}OPEC’s market share was 43.4 percent of the world, down from 44.6 percent the prior year, the group said in its annual report released Friday.

Most of OPEC’s oil was exported to Asian and Pacific countries, which received 59.3 percent of the total, followed by Europe and North America. Demand for oil grew 1.2 percent, led by North America, and the United States in particular, with developing countries just behind.

Crude oil reserves grew 0.4 percent in 2013, OPEC said, led by Western Europe. OPEC’s share of the world’s oil reserves was 81 percent, slightly higher than the 80.9 percent of the year before.