Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' oil production dropped 0.6 percent in August, led by declines in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, a Bloomberg News survey showed.

OPEC pumped an average 32.575 million barrels a day last month, down 200,000 barrels from July, according to the survey of oil companies, producers and analysts. July output was revised down by 50,000 barrels a day. Production by the 12 members with quotas, all except Iraq, declined 50,000 barrels to 30.265 million barrels a day.

The decline was the first since April, as producers took advantage of surging prices. Crude oil in New York has fallen 26 percent since reaching a record $147.27 a barrel on July 11. Futures settled at $109.35 a barrel today on the New York Mercantile Exchange. OPEC ministers will meet on Sept. 9 in Vienna to review production targets.

``These are still pretty high numbers,'' said Rick Mueller, director of oil markets at Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts. ``The question is how long they keep pumping at such a high rate. Unless there is a dramatic falloff in prices in the next few days they will probably roll over production targets at the meeting next week.''

Iraqi production fell 150,000 barrels to an average 2.31 million barrels a day last month, the lowest since January. It was the biggest decline among OPEC members and came amid lower output in the northern region and shipping delays from the country's Persian Gulf ports.

Iraqi Exports

Iraq exported an average 1.77 million barrels of oil a day in August, down 150,000 barrels from the previous month, the survey showed. Exports of Basrah crude oil from the two terminals in the south, Basrah and Khor al Amaya, averaged 1.45 million barrels a day, down from 1.52 million in July.

Exports of Kirkuk crude oil from Iraq's northern fields to Turkey's Ceyhan export terminal on the Mediterranean Sea fell 55,000 barrels a day to 310,000 barrels last month. Iraq exported about 10,000 barrels a day overland to Syria.

Demand from domestic refineries for power eased in August to 540,000 barrels a day from 565,000 barrels a day the previous month, the survey showed.

Saudi Arabia, OPEC's biggest producer and the world's top oil exporter, cut output by 100,000 barrels to an average 9.5 million barrels a day from a three-year high in July.

Iranian Increase

Iran, OPEC's second-biggest producer, raised output by 100,000 barrels to an average 4.08 million barrels a day last month, the largest increase of any member. Venezuela and the United Arab Emirates were the only other members to increase production in August.

Nigeria, Libya and Angola, three of OPEC's four African members, curbed output by a combined 80,000 barrels a day last month because of equipment failures and militant attacks. Algeria, OPEC's other African member, left production steady at 1.41 million barrels a day.

Nigerian production dropped 30,000 barrels to an average 1.9 million barrels a day in August as damage from attacks to onshore facilities in late July outpaced increases offshore, where Chevron Corp. started new output at the Agbami oil field.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc was forced to cut production of Bonny Light and Brass River crude oil because of the attacks on the Nembe pipeline and Tebidaba flow station.

The Agbami field is located 70 miles off the Nigerian coast and is the largest deepwater development in Nigeria, according to Chevron's Web site. The company expects production to rise to 250,000 barrels a day by 2010.

Libya and Angola

Libyan oil production declined 20,000 barrels a day to 1.63 million barrels a day in August, the lowest since April 2005, because of technical problems and planned maintenance.

Angola cut production by 30,000 barrels to 1.88 million barrels a day in August because of the shutdown of BP Plc's Plutonio oil field on Aug. 16. BP said Sept. 1 it expected to resume exports in October.

``This looks like just a blip in Angolan growth,'' Mueller said. ``The drop was due to the shutdown of Plutonio.''

Exxon Mobil Corp. and its partners started production at the Saxi and Batuque oil fields off Angola's coast, adding to output at its largest offshore project last month. When combined with the Mondo field, which started up in January, production from the Kizomba C project is expected to reach 200,000 barrels a day of oil later this year, Exxon Mobil said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Mark Shenk and Diane Munro in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 3, 2008 17:07 EDT