Exclusive-OPEC+ to consider further oil output hike on Sunday, sources say
FILE PHOTO: A view of the logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) outside their headquarters in Vienna, Austria, November 30, 2023. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo
LONDON/MOSCOW :OPEC+ will consider further raising oil production at a meeting on Sunday, two sources familiar with the discussions said, as the group seeks to regain market share.
OPEC+ has reversed its strategy of output cuts from April and has already raised quotas by about 2.5 million barrels per day, about 2.4 per cent of world demand, to boost market share and under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to lower oil prices.
But those increases have failed to bring down oil prices, which trade near $70 a barrel supported by Western sanctions on Russia and Iran, encouraging further production gains in rivals such as the United States.
Another output boost would mean OPEC+, which pumps about half of the world's oil, would be starting to unwind a second layer of cuts of about 1.65 million barrels per day, or 1.6 per cent of world demand, more than a year ahead of schedule.
Eight OPEC+ countries are due to hold an online meeting on Sunday expected to decide on October output. OPEC+ includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and other allies.
There is also a chance, some analysts and an OPEC+ source said, that OPEC+ could pause the increases for October. A final decision has not been made, the OPEC+ source said.
OPEC headquarters and authorities in Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Brent crude was trading near $68 on Wednesday, down over 1 per cent on the day but up from a 2025 low of near $58 in April.
As well as sanctions, the OPEC+ hikes falling short of the pledged amounts have also supported prices, analysts have said.
Until April, OPEC+ had been curtailing production for several years to support oil prices.
At their last meeting in August, the eight raised production by 547,000 bpd for September, an early reversal of its largest tranche of output cuts plus a separate output hike for the United Arab Emirates amounting to about 2.5 million bpd.
The next output cut layer of 1.65 million bpd is in place until the end of 2026, as is another 2 million bpd of cuts by the whole group.
