PARIS – The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will boost crude shipments next month as winter demand for heating oil and diesel climbs in the Northern Hemisphere, according to Oil Movements. OPEC will export 23.84 million barrels a day in the four weeks to Nov. 10, up 0.8 percent from 23.64 million a month earlier, the tanker- tracker said Thursday in its weekly report. The data exclude Angola and Ecuador. “Distillate demand is going to strengthen over the winter, no question about it,” Roy Mason, the researcher's founder, said by telephone from Halifax, England. “Refiners are going to have to get runs up to meet that.” Sailings from the Middle East, including non-OPEC members Oman and Yemen, will increase by 1.5 percent to 17.49 million barrels a day in the four-week period, the report showed. Crude on board tankers will average 469.43 million barrels, down 0.3 percent from 470.76 million in the previous month, the researcher said. Oil Movements calculates the volumes by tallying tanker-rental agreements. Its figures exclude oil held on board vessels as floating storage. OPEC comprises Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. The group's next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 12 at its headquarters in Vienna. Meanwhile, the price of oil rose slightly Thursday after earlier gains of more than 1 percent evaporated. Benchmark oil gained 13 cents to $85.86 a barrel at midday in New York after rising as high as $86.75 in the morning. The price dropped in each of the previous five trading sessions. Brent crude added 45 cents to $108.30 a barrel in London. Oil fell 1.1 percent Wednesday, ending below $86 a barrel for the first time since July, after the Energy Department said US oil supplies grew last week by 5.9 million barrels. At 375.1 million barrels, the US. oil inventory is 11.1 percent above year-ago levels. “The release of the weekly EIA oil inventories report surprised the markets, raising serious concerns about the levels of the oil demand,” said a report from Sucden Financial Research in London. Meanwhile, natural gas prices are down 3 cents to $3.42 per 1,000 cubic feet after the US government said supplies of the fuel rose last week. – Agencies
