OPEC+ agrees to keep oil output targets steady in November
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The seven core members of OPEC+ pumped 25 million barrels per day in August, still below pre-war levels in February.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON – Major OPEC+ nations agreed to keep oil production quotas unchanged in November, as conflict in the Middle East continues to shutter swaths of the group’s output.
A sub-group of seven countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia will keep targets steady, the coalition said in a statement following a monthly video conference on Oct 4. It is in line with their existing production roadmap.
The plans come as oil futures creep back up to the US$100-a-barrel mark and diesel hits records at the pump amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East, spurring Group of Seven nations to release emergency stocks.
Gulf OPEC+ producers have been pumping well below output targets in the face of continuing export disruptions from the US-Israeli war on Iran, with exports fluctuating at 60% to 80% of normal levels in recent months.
“The OPEC+ group of seven kept their production ceilings unchanged, in line with market expectations. That said, despite rising flows through the Strait of Hormuz, their output levels remain well below quota,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo .“Consequently, the oil market remains tight.”
Oil prices dropped on Oct 2 after European leaders agreed to US President Donald Trump’s request to release diesel reserves. Even so, Brent crude remains above US$100 a barrel, up from about US$73 before the Iran war started in late February.
The Iran war has also delayed the group’s output capacity review – crucial to determine members’ 2027 output quotas – because it has thrown estimates of future production potential into uncertainty, industry sources have said.
OPEC+ has been raising output targets for much of 2026 after years of production cuts, but most of the increases stayed on paper because of the Middle East conflict.
The seven core OPEC+ members pumped 25 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, up 630,000 bpd from July, yet still roughly 5 million bpd below pre-war levels in February. They will hold their next meeting on Nov 1.
OPEC+ still has about 2 million bpd of output cuts in place covering most members. It needs a capacity review to decide how to distribute increases and any changes to output are unlikely before 2027, sources have said.
The group’s seven core members meeting on Oct 4 are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman. REUTERS