LONDON: OPEC+ agreed on Sunday a fourth increase in its oil output targets in as many months, even though the US war with Iran is still preventing several of the group’s members from pumping more. The war has cut oil flows via the Strait of Hormuz, creating the world’s biggest-ever supply crisis. Seven core members of OPEC+, which groups OPEC and allied producers including Russia, have increased their output quotas from April to June by almost 600,000 barrels per day.
On Sunday, the seven members decided to increase targets by 188,000 bpd from July, OPEC said in a statement. This is the same as the June hike, which was adjusted down from monthly increases of 206,000 bpd in May and April to take into account the UAE’s exit. The seven countries are increasing production as part of the gradual unwinding of a 1.65 million bpd production cut that the group, which at the time included UAE, agreed in 2023.
The seven of 21 OPEC+ members who met on Sunday are Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Russia and Oman. In a separate meeting on Sunday of all OPEC+ members, the ministers made no change to group-wide output policy that is in place until the end of 2026, OPEC+ said in another statement. — Reuters
