OPEC income surges by $147bn in 8 months

A sharp rise in crude prices boosted OPEC's oil export income by nearly $147 billion in the first eight months of 2010 and the earnings are poised for a steep rise through the year, official US figures showed on Tuesday.

The 12-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries earned about $487 billion in the first eight months of this year compared with nearly $340 billion in the first eight months of 2009, showed the figures by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the US Department of Energy.

All members of the 50-year-old cartel recorded an increase in their revenue and Gulf oil heavyweights emerged as the main beneficiaries given their high output. Angola, Nigeria and Venezuela were also key gainers.

EIA projected OPEC's total income will surge by nearly $160 billion to $731 billion through 2010 from around $571 billion during 2009.

It gave no reason for the surge in the first eight months but analysts attributed it to a large increase in crude prices, which averaged above $70 a barrel, nearly $20 higher than the average oil price in the first eight months of 2009 .

According to the analysts, oil prices are expected to average more than $70 this year compared with nearly $60 a barrel in 20009. Prices could swell to $80 in 2011 because of stronger demand on the back of global economic recovery and this is expected to boost OPEC's income to $805 billion, according to EIA.

A breakdown showed Saudi Arabia, the world's oil powerhouse which pumps nearly a third of OPEC's crude supply, was the top earner in the cartel, with around $131 billion in the first eight months of 2010. The level is far higher than the $92 billion earned in the same period of last year.

Iran, the second largest producer in OPEC, netted nearly $47 billion during January-August this year against $32 billion in the same period of 2009.

The UAE was the third largest earner, with around $43 billion, far higher than its revenues of nearly $31 billion in the first eight months of last year.

EIA estimated the income in the first eight months of 2010 at $42 billion for Nigeria, $38 billion for Kuwait, $37 billion for Angola, $36 billion for Algeria, $31 billion for Iraq, $28 billion for Libya, $26 billion for Venezuela, $23 billion for Qatar, and around $four billion for Ecuador.

A surge in crude prices to a record high average of around $95 a barrel in 2008 allied with higher output to boost OPEC's income to an all time high of more than $900 billion in current prices.

OPEC, which pumps just under 40 per cent of the world's oil supplies, slashed production quotas by over four million bpd through 2009. The bulk of the cut was made by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, which are believed to have trimmed output by more than 1.5 million barrels per day.

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