Survey: OPEC oil production saw its biggest drop in decades in March.

OPEC crude oil production saw its biggest drop in at least four decades in March as the Middle East conflict dampened exports from major member countries. Surveys showed that OPEC's daily output plummeted by 7.56 million barrels (about 25%) to 22 million barrels. This March's drop was the largest single-month decline in production since 1989, according to data compiled by the agency. This decline (in barrels) also exceeded that of the 1973 Arab oil embargo. According to Daniel Yergin's *The Great Oil Game*, the market experienced a total loss of 5 million barrels per day between October and December of that year, although that shock occurred in a much smaller global market. The survey showed that Iraq, the OPEC member most reliant on the Strait of Hormuz, saw the largest drop in production, decreasing by 2.76 million barrels per day to 1.63 million barrels. Saudi Arabia and the UAE suffered the next largest losses, benefiting from the ability to partially divert exports through alternative pipelines. Saudi Arabia's daily production fell by 2.07 million barrels to 8.36 million barrels, while the UAE's daily production fell by 1.44 million barrels to 2.16 million barrels. Although Saudi Arabia can export via the Red Sea, tanker tracking shows that Saudi exports fell by approximately 50% in March. (Jinshi)