World Oil Output Soars in October

World oil production surged by more than a million barrels a day in October from September levels, and the upward climb is expected to continue through 1995, the West’s oil industry watchdog said Monday.

Production is growing faster than expected because of enhanced recovery methods and other new technology that enables producers to maximize output, and it more than offsets higher demand forecasts, analysts say.

In 1995, oil production in non-OPEC countries alone is expected to rise by at least 500,000 barrels a day to 41.6 million, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said.

Even though oil demand continues to grow at a blistering pace--a 1.5% increase, or 1 million barrels a day in 1994 alone, according to the IEA--the world’s thirst for oil is being quenched by higher-than-expected exports from the former Soviet Union, the North Sea and Latin America.

“Non-OPEC production is constantly going up, and we think forecasts are actually underestimating it even now. If the winter is very mild, we’re at risk of falling prices,” said oil analyst Mike Barry of Energy Market Consultants.

According to the latest monthly IEA report, most of the October gains were posted in nations that are not members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, especially North Sea producers Norway and Britain.