OPEC: Middle East Oil Production Plummets 23-61%, Recovery to Take Months

Crude oil production in major Middle Eastern exporting countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait plummeted in March due to the Iran war. Data released by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) earlier this week reported that Iraq suffered the biggest blow, with production dropping 61% from 4.2 million barrels per day in February to 1.6 million barrels per day in March. The same data shows production fell 53% in Kuwait and 44% in the United Arab Emirates on a monthly basis. Saudi Arabia relies on the vital East-West pipeline to divert crude oil from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea for export. However, that pipeline, with a capacity of 7 million barrels per day, was recently attacked by Iran. The attack reduced the pipeline’s capacity by 700,000 barrels per day. In addition, Arab Gulf countries have reduced production because they cannot export through the Strait of Hormuz due to the war. Furthermore, tanker traffic through that narrow sea route, which connects the Gulf to global energy markets, has plunged due to Iranian attacks. “We have robust reserves that can produce quite a lot directly in a few days,” he said, quoted from CNBC on Tuesday (14/4/2026). “Most of the production will come in a few weeks, and then full production will come in three or four months,” he added. Meanwhile, Iran’s production fell around 5% from 3.24 million barrels per day to 3.06 million barrels per day from the previous month. The Islamic Republic continues to export through the strait during the war. However, Iran now faces a blockade after peace negotiations with the US failed to produce an agreement over the weekend. This has caused the price of US crude oil futures contracts for May delivery to surge back above $100 per barrel, with US contracts for June delivery at $94 per barrel. As a global benchmark, Brent crude oil prices are also trading around $100 per barrel for June delivery, while July contracts are at $93.93 per barrel.