OPEC pumped 31 million barrels of oil in April

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped 30.93 million barrels of crude oil  per day in April, well above the energy cartel’s current ceiling.

The April total is 210,000 bpd more than March and is seen as the highest since November 2012.

OPEC oil output in April was nearly one million bpd above the 30 million bpd ceiling which has been in place since the beginning of 2012.

Back in November 2014, Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, argued that the ceiling should be maintained despite plunging crude prices.

Crude oil prices have fallen to about half of their peak in June 2014 when Brent was trading at $115 per barrel. OPEC’s refusal to reduce output in November brought the prices down below $50 per barrel.

About 2 months ago, Kuwait’s OPEC governor Nawal Al-Fuzaia said OPEC may maintain its current oil production of over 30 million barrels a day at its next meeting in June.

OPEC has said it believes the oversupply, as much as 1.5 million barrels per day, will evaporate as oil demand picks up and US oil production growth slows, with companies drilling fewer wells.

The oil cartel’s 12 member states pump around 40% of global oil supply.