Oil production from the Opec totalled 31.4 million barrels a day (b/d) in July, according to a survey by UK-based Platts on 12 August.

There has been a rise of 120,000 b/d from the 31.28 million b/d in June.

On 5 June Opec chose to maintain its production ceiling of 30 million b/d and urged member countries to adhere to it.

Opec’s largest producer Saudi Arabia accounted for most of the increase, pumping an additional 100,000 b/d to raise its July output to 10.45 million b/d.

Smaller increases of 50,000 b/d, 30,000 b/d and 20,000 b/d were contributed by Angola, the UAE and Iran, respectively. Algeria, Libya and Nigeria increased output by a collective 80,000 b/d.

“OPEC is now pumping at its highest level in three years, and that’s before Iran comes back at full throttle,” says Margaret McQuaile, senior correspondent for Platts.

The July output is the highest that has been produced by Opec since August 2012, which had an estimated output of 3154 million b/d. However, OPEC was trying to reduce production towards the 30 million b/d ceiling that had come into place in January 2012.