Oil production from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) totalled 31.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in July, up 120,000 bpd from the June level of 31.28 million bpd, a report said.

Kingpin producer Saudi Arabia accounted for almost all of the increase, pumping an additional 100,000 bpd to take its July output to 10.45 million bpd, the Platts survey of Opec and oil industry officials and analysts showed Wednesday.

Smaller increases of 50,000 bpd, 30,000 bpd and 20,000 bpd came from Angola, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, while Algeria, Libya and Nigeria shaved output by a collective 80,000 bpd.

"Opec is now pumping at its highest level in three years, and that's before Iran comes back at full throttle," said Margaret McQuaile, senior correspondent for Platts, a leading global provider of energy and commodities information. "At some point, something will have to give, but that time may be some way off."

The July total is the highest volume pumped by Opec since August 2012, when the survey estimated the group's output at 31.54 million bpd. Then, however, Opec was trying to reduce production towards the 30 million bpd ceiling that had come into force in January 2012. That ceiling remains Opec's official output volume, but there is no mechanism in place to enforce it, the report said.

Despite oil prices having slipped below $50 per barrel and with the prospect of additional crude flows from Iran in a few months' time, there is no sign that Opec's Saudi-driven market share policy is about to change in the short term, noted McQuaile. – TradeArabia News Service