The UAE and Kuwait kept their oil production within Opec limits in July while Saudi Arabia slashed output by more than 100,000 barrels per day to get close to its quota assigned by the group, official figures showed yesterday.

Iran's production dipped slightly in July, but it remains nearly 200,000 bpd higher than its Opec-decreed share. Qatar, a small oil producer but a major gas power, appeared to be complying with its production quota despite a slight rise in July.

Reporting its crude output to the Riyadh-based Joint Oil Data Initiative (Jodi), an energy forum grouping about 100 hydrocarbon producers and consumers, the UAE said it pumped 2.257 million bpd in July.

The output is slightly higher than its production of 2.232 million bpd in June, but close to its Opec-assigned quota of about 2.22 million bpd.

Kuwait said it produced 2.270 million bpd in July, slightly above its quota, but lower than its May output of about 2.24 million bpd.

Saudi Arabia, which controls a quarter of the world's proven oil deposits, reported production of about 8.243 million bpd in July, nearly 200,000 bpd above its official quota, but more than 100,000 bpd below its June output of 8.357 million bpd. The kingdom gave no reason for the decline, but Saudi Arabia has traditionally acted as a swing producer to keep oil prices at reasonable levels.

Industry sources said they believed Saudi Arabia, which pumps about 30 per cent of Opec's output, cut supplies in July after crude prices edged down to an average $64 (Dh234.88) a barrel from about $68 in June. Prices firmed up to $71 in August before slipping to an average $67 a barrel in the first three weeks of September.

The figures showed Iran, the second largest producer in Opec, pumped 3.530 million bpd in July, slightly lower than its June output of 3.550 million bpd. Iran is assigned a quota of 3.33 million bpd under agreements by the 12-nation Opec to trim 4.2 million bpd from January to prevent a price collapse.

Qatar said it pumped close to its quota of 739,000 bpd in July, slightly higher than its June production of 730,000 bpd.

Although Opec has not fully complied with the agreed cuts, they had driven prices far higher than their January average of $41 a barrel.

Saudi Arabia has shouldered the bulk of the reduction, with its output sliding by more than one million bpd since September, when it pumped 9.463 million bpd.

The UAE has trimmed supplies by more than 300,000 bpd since September while the cut by Kuwait and Iran stood at over 400,000 bpd. Despite its relatively low output, Qatar reduced supplies by over 100,000 bpd over the past year.

As a whole, the five Gulf Opec oil producers have slashed their crude supplies by just below three million bpd since September, when their combined production stood at around 19.92 million bpd, Jodi figures showed.

Iraq slightly increased its crude production to 2.412 million bpd in July from 2.407 million bpd in June, but the conflict-battered Arab nation has remained outside Opec's production quota system for many years.

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