LONDON -- OPEC+ crude oil production jumped in October, led by a sharp increase in output from Saudi Arabia despite continued disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz caused by the Iran war. The OPEC+ group, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, pumped 41.23 million barrels per day in October, OPEC said in a monthly report on Wednesday, up about 2.04 million bpd from September. The figures, based on secondary sources, add to signs that Gulf oil producers are recovering exports by using workarounds such as ship-to-ship transfers to bypass disruption caused by the conflict. According to Reuters calculations based on OPEC data, October output was equivalent to 97 per cent of the 42.72 million bpd produced by OPEC+ in February. Saudi Arabia told OPEC it pumped 10.563 million bpd in October, the report said, up from 8.372 million bpd in September. That was its highest output since February, when it reported production of 10.882 million bpd. Riyadh sharply increased its production in February ahead of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Saudi Arabia has frequently intervened in oil markets, boosting supply during disruptions or curbing output when it sees a risk of oversupply. Russian output also rises Russia’s oil production rose by 41,000 bpd in October from September to 8.668 million bpd, according to the secondary sources cited in OPEC’s report. U.S. President Donald Trump last month announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Although the agreement failed to hold in any meaningful way, it provided a respite from Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries and may have supported oil output. OPEC left its forecasts for global oil demand growth unchanged after cutting them for six straight months, and made no changes to its 2027 outlook. The producer group expects world oil demand to rise by 2.55 million bpd next year to an average of 108.3 million bpd. It forecasts growth of 180,000 bpd in 2026. (Reporting by Alex Lawler, Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter)
