The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has recorded its highest petrol export revenue in almost a decade last year. This was as Russia’s war on Ukraine bolstered crude prices and key members ramped up production.
The 13 nations of OPEC realised $873.6 billion in 2022, up 54 per cent from the previous year, according to a report from the group’s Statistical Bulletin. It was their best year since 2014, when the US shale boom ended a period of historically high oil prices.
Crude oil soared last year as energy flows from Russia, which joined with the cartel in 2016 in a wider network known as OPEC+, were disrupted by international backlash against its military aggression. Brent futures averaged about $99 a barrel, the highest since 2014.
OPEC nations such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE opened the taps to satisfy the post-pandemic recovery in fuel demand. The combination of surging prices and increased output pushed up earnings for the entire group, Bloomberg reported.
The basket of crude grades typically sold by OPEC nations averaged just over $100 a barrel in 2022, while Bloomberg estimates showed that crude production from its 13 states was roughly 29.2 million barrels a day. The figures for petroleum revenue also include sales of refined products.
OPEC’s earnings peaked at roughly $1.2 trillion in 2012, just as the use of hydraulic fracturing — also known as fracking — was unlocking a gusher of shale-oil in American states from Texas to North Dakota. The ensuing market crash spurred the Saudis and Russia, once fierce rivals, to form the OPEC+ coalition in 2016.
