OPEC will raise shipments by 0.7 percent this month as Libya continues to restore production that was halted during last year's uprising, according to tanker- tracker Oil Movements. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will export 23.38 million barrels a day in the four weeks to March 3, up from the 23.21 million barrels in the period to Feb. 4, the Halifax, England-based researcher said Friday. The figures exclude Angola and Ecuador. Meanwhile, the price of OPEC basket of 12 crudes stood at $118.13 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $117.95 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela). "It's coming from Libya partly, and partly from the Gulf," said Roy Mason, Oil Movements' founder, who estimates the North African nation has restored about two-thirds of its capacity. "But the peak in winter demand has passed, and so the decline in shipments should happen soon. If it doesn't, there's something truly remarkable happening with demand." Exports from Middle Eastern producers, including non-OPEC members Oman and Yemen, will increase 0.6 percent to 17.47 million barrels a day in the four-week period, according to Oil Movements. Crude on board tankers will average 473.3 million barrels in the four weeks, up 1.8 percent from 465.02 million in the month to Feb. 4, Oil Movements said.
